Quirky
by Inkster Girl
Summary: Damon and Stephen decide to open the boarding house for business! They're low on cash, and they need to get rid of the unwanted 'visitor' problem. Damon starts to care, love blossoms, and old loves cause problems. DamonxOC
1. Rent It Out

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries (the TV show). I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter 1- Rent It Out**

"Shit!"

Stephen looked up from his bowl of cereal, his brow raised. "Something wrong Damon?"

The shuffled of paper answered him, followed by another loud curse.

Stephen sighed and put down his spoon. "Damon, will you just tell me what's wrong? I don't really think that your cursing is going to help you with anything, if it's ever helped you at all."

Damon Salvatore glared up at his younger brother, his mouth turned down into a mean grimace. He noticed that Stephen looked rather amused watching him fume over the stack of papers in front of him. He put down the one he was clutching presently to shine a sarcastic smirk Stephen's way.

"Well, brother dear, it seems that we have hit a speed bump on the road to financial stability."

Stephen's brow furrowed. "What do mean?"

"It means we need money." He snorted before turning his attention back down to the stack of accursed tree droppings. "And everyone thinks that you're the smart one."

Stephen ignored the comment, standing up and making his way beside Damon. He peered over his shoulder. "Those bills then?"

Damon shook his head. "No, their invitations to fabulous parties hosted by the richest and fakest Orange County Wives… Of course their bills!"

Stephen held his hands up defensively. "Hey calm down. Don't take it out on me. I'm not the one who's making you pay."

"No, you're not. Hmm, say Stephen, how far away is the headquarters of Harlequin's Gas and Hydro?"

Stephen shook his head. "No, you're not going to compel anyone to let you off from paying these bills."

"Um, I never said that I would compel them."

"Damon…"

"Alright, alright. I won't do anything. But how do you suggest we make money? My social security number isn't exactly up to date you know. I think it might be 3, or was it 7…"

A few minutes of silence went by before Stephen piped up with, "Well, why don't we open the boarding house for service again? If we get a few tenants, we could pay off the bills, and it would take care of that pesky problem of unwanted 'visitors' from just barging in whenever they want to."

Damon looked at his brother with a dumbfounded expression.

"What?"

Damon shook his head slowly, as if clearing it of a thick fog. "By God, you are the smart one. Well, one of us had to be I guess." He smirked. "Thank God that I got the looks and the charm though. I can barely keep the female population off of me as it is. If I was smart too, I'd have died buried under a cheerleader dog pile long ago."

Stephen chuckled despite himself. He walked around the table, sat down and resumed eating is now soggy Cheerios.

Damon on the other hand reached for a calculator to do some quick calculations. A few minutes later, a resounding "Ah Ha!" echoed through the kitchen. Damon slapped down the documents in front of him onto the cool marble of the kitchen table, all the while giving Stephen a triumphant smile.

Stephen scooped up some honey glazed O's. "Figured out how to pay the bills?"

"Yup. All we need is to charge 3 people three hundred and fifty dollars a month for a few years; we'll be able to pay off the bills completely."

"And what about after that?"

Damon looked at Stephen blankly. "After what?"

"What are you going to do after we have no more tenants? What will we do to pay the bills?"

Damon snorted a he shuffled the papers together and got up from his seat. "By then I would have seduced a little old blue haired socialite-or three- that will pay the bills whenever we need them to. Please Stephen, as if I'm interested in babysitting a bunch of losers and loners. That may be your favorite past time, but I have more important things to do."

Stephen smiled as he watched his brother saunter up the staircase. He quickly finished his breakfast and decided to go out into the woods to find something that would satisfy his other 'hunger.' He put his dishes in the sink and quickly made his way outside. It wasn't long before he found a couple of plump rabbits that would get him through the day.

As he wiped his mouth clean, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He dug it out and smiled when he glanced at the caller ID. He pressed the answer button and lifted the phone to his ear.

"Hey, what's up?"

A soft, feminine voice floated across the line. "Hey Stephen, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today. After everything that's happened with Isabel and the tension between me and Bonnie, I feel like I need a day off. You know, just a day where we have fun."

Stephen grinned. "That sounds great. Do you want to go to the next town over so we can catch a movie?"

"That's sounds like a good idea. I heard the latest romantic comedy got really good reviews. And don't wince, it spoils you face!"

Stephen laughed. "How did you know I was wincing?"

"Let's just say that you're not the only one with super powers," she said as he pictured her grinning.

"Alright, how about I pick you up in an hour?"

"Sounds good to me. See you then. Love you."

"Love you."

Stephen hung up, and ran back to the house, changing his cotton pajama bottom and white tank for a pair of dark wash jeans and a dark green t-shirt. He picked up his car keys from the small table near the front entrance and started to make his way outside when he was stopped by Damon's sudden appearance blocking the door.

Damon smiled as he leaned against the door frame. "Where are you going?"

"Out," Stephen said as he pushed his way past his brother.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Obviously. I just wanted to know _where_ you were going out to. Will you be seeing Elena? If you are, say to her for me. I haven't seen her since a week ago when we gave that bitch mother of hers Jonathan Gilbert's device. By the way, have you guys talked about the fact that the man she thinks is her uncle is actually her father?"

Stephen glared at Damon. The older Salvatore answered his glare with his trademark smirk. "Would that be a no?"

"Stay out of it Damon. This doesn't concern you." Stephen unlocked the door to the car and climbed inside.

"That may be, but the problem concerns my _friend_," Damon called back to Stephen as Stephen started the engine.

Stephen gave no farewell to Damon as he drove out of the driveway. Damon, however, waved goodbye to Stephen, calling out as he drove away, "Have a nice day dear! Remember to say no to drugs!" He chuckled as he walked back inside the house and closed the door behind him.

He walked into the living room and picked up the phone. He dialed the number he got from the phone book, and waited until someone picked up the other end.

He didn't have to wait long before he heard a click and a friendly, "Good afternoon, Mystic Falls Daily Newspaper. How may I help you?"

"Yes, how much is to publish an ad?"

* * *

Stephen picked up Elena at her house and they both drove out of town toward the next town over, which was a bit bigger than Mystic Falls by a population of 5,000. The town of Richter Hills didn't have much, but at least they had a mall and a decent sized movie theatre.

After a few minutes of enjoying the wind blowing through her hair, Elena turned to Stephen.

"So, how's your day been so far?"

Stephen glanced at her before turning his attention back to the road. "Well, Damon and I have decided to open the boarding house to tenants."

"Really?" All ears now, Elena turned her whole body towards the driver. "What made you guys decide to do that?"

Stephen told her about their need for money and the practicality of having people living in the house.

Elena nodded. "That actually sounds reasonable. But what about Damon? You really think that he'll be able to control himself enough to keep his fangs off?"

Stephen grinned. "Well, I'd like to see him try when he won't be able to compel them."

"How do you figure that?"

"Easy. I just have to spike all the drinks in the house with vervain, and presto, no compelling. Damon will just have to deal with getting take out instead of eating at home."

Elena giggled. She leaned over the seat and kissed his cheek. "You're so smart."

Stephen smiled over at her. They drove in comfortable silence the rest of the way to Richter Hills.

They spent the rest of the day browsing through various stores, eating at a small café, and watching the latest romantic comedy. It was almost eleven o'clock when Stephen drove Elena back home. They kissed goodnight, and Stephen watched as Elena walked up her front steps and through the front door before he put the car into gear and drove away.

When Stephen arrived at the house, he saw that some of the lights were still on, so he assumed that Damon was still up. He climbed out of the car and locked the doors. As he approached the front door, the sound of music could be heard blaring through the walls. He walked inside to see Damon lounging on the couch with a glass of scotch in his hand.

Stephen walked over to the stereo and turned down the volume. "So, put an ad in the paper already?"

Damon nodded. He took a slow slip from his glass before saying, "All we have to do now is wait for the calls to come in. Did you have a nice date with Elena? Did you guys talk about anything interesting?"

"Goodnight Damon," Stephen said as he started walking up the stairs to his room.

"Goodnight baby brother. Sweet dreams."

Damon listened to the footsteps of his younger brother until he was sure that he had entered his room. He took another sip of his scotch. The corner of his mouth turned up.

"Let the fun begin."


	2. Interviews

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries (the TV show). I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Chapter 2- Interviews**

_**Three days later**_

"What's your name?"

"Dick Flasher."

"…… Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Get out. NEXT!"

* * *

"Name?"

"Brittany Coleson."

"Hmm, nice to meet you Brittany. May I say that your hair looks really nice today."

Giggle. "Thank you Mr. Salvatore."

"Please call me Damon."

"Thank you Damon."

"You know what Brittany, I'm feeling a bit thirsty. Would you mind if I got something to drink?"

"Not at all. I'll just wait here."

"Well Kelly-"

"Brittany."

"Right, Brittany. I don't think that you quiet understood what I meant…"

_**2 minutes later**_

"Hey Damon, I just wanted to see how the interview was… What are you doing?"

"Having a snack."

"What did I say before? No snacking on the prospective clients. Now we have to wipe her mind and send her home."

"What do you mean, we?"

"…………"

* * *

"Hello, I'm Damon Salvatore, and you are?"

"Oh my God! My name is Damon too, but my last name is Burgess."

"Your name is Damon?"

"Yup. Oh my God, how fun would it be if we lived together? We could be all like, hey Damon, sup Damon, what you doing later Damon, don't know Damon. I mean, how fun is that?"

"Get out."

"What's your name?"

"Bill."

"Bill what?"

"Just Bill."

"Oookay, well 'just Bill', all your paperwork seems to be in order. And it seems like you're a…. somewhat sane person. I just need to ask you some questions."

Grunt.

"Do you have any pets?"

"……….."

"Bill?"

"What classifies as pets?"

"What do you mean, 'what classifies as pets?' A pet is a pet Bill, it… Did your beard just move?"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a blue Mini Cooper pulled into town. As it drove down Main Street, people who took a couple of seconds to look in the windows could see that the back seat was loaded with boxes, appliances and suitcases. Some murmured to each other that it must be a new resident, with all those boxes; it was safe to assume that they weren't on a run of the mill road trip.

The Mini made its way into town and stopped in front of an old brick building that was just on the end of the street. The vehicle parked on the side of the road and the engine cut off. The driver's side door opened and a Converse clad foot stepped out. The foot was followed by a jean clad leg that attached itself to a rounded pair of hips. The hips sloped gently into a waist, which then rounded again as it was made clear that the driver was, in fact, a woman.

Danielle Court was a 26 year old English major from a small town in southern Saskatchewan. Her chocolate brown eyes were framed by thick lashes. Her short, dark hair was pushed back from her face and waved slightly in the breeze. She stood as tall as her 5'10 frame would let her as she looked around the area.

Dani looked up at the worn old building in front of her. She glanced down at a little piece of paper that was folded in her palm. She glanced from the piece of paper to the tiled number beside the front door of the building. She nodded to herself as she pocketed the piece of paper, closed the car door, and walked up to the front step.

She reached out to open the door, but found that it was stuck. She tried pulling it out again, but still, it didn't budge. She knocked instead to see if anyone would answer.

A few minutes passed, and Dani knocked again. She rang the bell a couple of times just to make sure that no one was inside. Suddenly, she heard the patter of feet, and stepped back from the door as an old woman poked her head outside.

The old woman eyed Dani wearily. "What d'ya want?

Dani smiled at the woman politely. "Hello. My name is Danielle Court and I'm supposed to be moving into apartment 2C today. I'm the new tenant."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Sorry, but the building's being closed due to health violations. Apparently the health department doesn't consider rats to be pets. Goodbye."

She started to close the door, but Dani rushed forward to stop it with her hand.

"What do you mean; the building is being closed down? I came all the way from Canada for a job here! Where am I supposed to live?"

The old woman shoved Dani back, almost making her fall onto the curb. She glared at Dani hatefully. "I don't care where you live! That's not my problem! Now get lost before I call the police on your scrawny ass!"

Dani opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off as the door was slammed shut. She huffed in surprise before shouting, "My ass is not scrawny! It's proportionate to the rest of my body!"

After a brief moment of anger and annoyance, Dani sighed in defeat and sat on the hood of her car, thinking. Before too long, she started thinking out loud, which unfortunately happened whenever she was stressed.

"Ok, so what now? I don't have anywhere to live, my new job starts in a few days, all my teaching material is packed, and so are my clothes. I can't just quit and go home, so I need to find somewhere to live and fast. I should ask around to see if there's a motel nearb-"

"Um, excuse me."

Dani cut off from her rambling to look up at whoever spoke to her. She was met with the sight of a young woman, maybe a few years younger than herself, with straight dark brown hair, a slender figure and kind brown eyes.

The young woman smiled at her, putting her hand up in greeting. "Hello, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I couldn't help but overhear that you needed a place to stay?"

Dani nodded. "Yes. Unfortunately, the building that I was supposed to be staying at is closing down, and now I have to find somewhere else to live."

"Well, I actually know of a place that just opened for residence a few days ago. They're looking for tenants."

Dani perked up at the news. "Really? Could you give me the address?"

"I can do you one better. I'm parked down the street, so how about you just follow me there? I personally know the owners, so it shouldn't be a problem getting you in to see them."

"Wow, thank you so much…… Um, sorry, but I guess I missed your name." Dani chuckled as she stretched out her hand. "My name's Danielle, but you can call me Dani."

The young woman smiled warmly, taking her hand in hers. "My name's Elena. It's nice to meet you."

* * *

Dani followed Elena's car out of the main part of town, and into the woods. They took an old road the lead into the forest. They drove for 10 minutes until Dani saw the outline of a large structure up ahead.

"That must be the house," she said to herself. She slowly made her way into the driveway, and parked behind Elena's car, just to the side. She stepped out and took in her surrounds. The house itself was magnificent. She felt a burble of excitement well up inside her, but quickly squashed it, knowing that nothing was guaranteed until she spoke to the owners herself.

Elena walked over to her. Dani smiled as she approached. She pointed to the house. "This is the place?"

Elena nodded, looking up at the building herself. "Yup, this is it. If you're impressed with the outside of it, you're gonna hit the roof when you see the inside." Without another word, she started towards the front door, leaving Dani to follow behind.

When Elena came up to the front door, she knocked on the polished wood, and immediately the door opened. A young man about Elena's age greeted her. He smiled at her and gave her a small, but familiar kiss on the mouth. As he pulled away, he noticed Dani standing behind her, and gave her a welcoming nod, his once warm and open smile now one of indifference and politeness.

Elena turned to Dani, her arm stretched out. "Stephen, this is Danielle. She's new in town and has nowhere to go, so I brought her here. Dani, this is Stephen Salvatore. He's one of the owners of the house and my boyfriend."

Dani walked up, putting on her own polite smile and put out her hand to shake with Stephens. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Stephens hand closed over hers, shaking it quickly before letting go. "Likewise. Please come in." He moved to the side to allow Elena and Dani through.

When Dani walked through the door, her eyes widened. The house was huge! It had not looked this big from the outside, and it was decorated tastefully. Very tastefully. So tastefully that she was afraid to tough anything. A touch at her elbow brought her back to Earth.

Elena smiled at her from over her shoulder. "I told you you'd be floored."

Dani grinned back. "Yes, you did say that didn't you."

Stephen motioned them to follow him as he walked forward into a room that Dani could only guess was what served as a living room/library.

"Please sit down and relax. I'll go get Damon." Dani's eyebrows rose in curiosity, and Stephen, seeing the question on her face, answered, "Damon is my older brother. He's the one who's been interviewing prospective tenants. You'll be making the actual living arrangements with him, that is, if he approves you."

Dani smiled nervously. Elena leaned over and patted her hand. "Don't worry. Damon is actually a nice guy, in his own way. Sometimes."

Getting more nervous by the syllable, Dani anxiously awaited the arrival of the oldest Salvatore brother. She didn't have to wait long. Stephen walked back into the room a few minutes later, with one of the world's most gorgeous men strutting in behind him.

Midnight black hair, bright blue eyes, and a smirk that could either kill you or make you swoon, Damon Salvatore was the most handsome-no scratch that- _beautiful_ men Dani had ever seen.

She stood from her seat to introduce herself, but fell short when the man ignored her and bee-lined straight for Elena, picking her up in a tight hug. Dani saw Stephen scowl from the corner of her eye.

"Elena! How nice to see you! Have you been avoiding me, cause I haven't see you since-"

It was then that he took notice of Dani. Instantly, his eyes turned mistrustful and hard, and his smirking mouth quickly flattened itself out. "Who's this?"

Taken aback from his sudden change in attitude, Dani fidgeted on the spot for a moment. However, she quickly shook the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach off, and said in a clear and unwavering voice, "Hello Mr. Salvatore, it's nice to meet you. My name is Danielle Court and I came to see if there was any chance of me acquiring a room here."

Behind her, Stephen couldn't help the small smile that made it onto his face at the sound of Dani's formal introduction. Across the room, he caught Elena's eyes and he saw that she was trying to hide her smile as well.

Damon, on the other hand was not smiling. Slowly, his eyes roved from the tip of Dani's scuffed Converse sneakers to the top of her dark head. He tilted his head side to side, as if trying to see if a different angle would help with the view.

Needless to say that Dani was getting a bit uncomfortable and a bit annoyed as well. No one had ever scrutinized her so openly. So as she waited for Damon to finish his inspection, a random though about fool's gold came to her mind. How on the outside it looked like real gold, all shiny and bright, but once you cracked it open, you found nothing but dull rock on the inside. She wondered if the same fact would apply to Damon Salvatore.

After Damon's third rove over her body, Dani decided that she'd had enough. "Excuse me, but what are you doing?"

Damon's cool blue eyes met with hers, his brow raised. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Oh sorry, I was just trying to figure out if you were actually that chubby, or was it just your clothes that made you look fat."

A gasp of outrage came from Elena. "Damon!"

A, "Damon, that was uncalled for," came from Stephen behind her.

But from Dani, not a peep came from her mouth. Instead, she smiled sweetly at Damon, picked up her keys from the small table in front of her, and tilted her head forwards. "Thank you for taking the time to see me, but I'm afraid that I must be going now." Her eyes met Elena's and she smiled. "Thank you for trying to help me Elena, but I think it would be better if I just find a place on my own. I'm obviously not wanted here." She turned, smiled and tilted her head in farewell to Stephen. "It was nice meeting you Stephen." She didn't turn to Damon as she added, "I'm sorry that I can't say the same for your brother. Goodbye. I'll show myself out." With that, she walked away from the trio and out the door.

She got halfway to her car when a deep voice spoke up behind her. "So you wanna stay or what?"

She stopped mid-step and glanced over her shoulder to see Damon Salvatore standing behind her. Her brow furrowed in confusion for two reasons: 1) she hadn't heard any footsteps behind her, so how was he there now, and 2) What did he just say?

Verbalizing her thought, Dani said, "Excuse me?"

Damon sighed. "I really hate repeating myself you know. It's such a waste of time."

"Then I guess I shouldn't waste your time." She started turning to walk away again, but was stopped by a wall. No, not a wall, a chest. She looked up into ocean colored eyes.

"I said, did you want to stay or what?"

Dani's mouth opened and closed as she became mute. How had he moved so fast? Shaking her head to clear it, she answered, "I would like to stay, but I with all due respect I don't want to take that kind of verbal abuse again from a total stranger."

Damon sneered. "Sorry babe, but I say whatever the hell I want whenever the hell I want."

"Why did you just call me babe if you just said I was fat? Are you attracted to bigger women? Are you a- jeez, what do they call it- a chubby chaser?"

Damon looked down at the woman in front of him. For once, he didn't know how to answer. The question had completely caught him off guard. Was she serious?

Quickly trying to recover from his surprise, he said, "Why? Hoping that I'll go after you?"

Dani snorted. "Oh yeah, cause I'll I've ever wanted since I was a kid was for Babe to follow me around. No thanks. I asked just so I could know whether or not I should go on a diet."

Damon blinked. Her snarky comebacks and quick wit were refreshing. It wasn't too often that he met people that could clash verbal swords with him. Maybe having her living at the house wouldn't be so bad after all.

"You're in."


	3. Movin' In

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Chapter 3- Movin' In**

"What the hell do you have in this box?"

"Books."

"Books? That's what's in this box? Just books?"

"Yup. And in that box, and that box too."

"Why the hell do you have so many books?"

"I like to read."

Stephen sighed as he hoisted a suitcase against his hip. "Will you shut up Damon. It's a good thing that she has books since we don't have cable or satellite. She's gotta have something entertaining to do."

Damon grunted as he followed Stephen to the staircase. Dani followed behind him while Elena brought up the rear. Each person had something to carry as they made their way up the stairs to the second floor.

After Dani's unusual acceptance into residence, she went to her car with Damon tailing behind her. She said that since he was kind enough to let her live in his house, she'd asked if it would be alright if she started moving in her stuff. Damon agreed and proceeded to call Stephen and Elena to help with the move.

"So Dani, what brings you to Mystic Falls anyway? Our town's pretty small, and we don't have a lot to offer."

Dani grunted as her hold slipped on the box, but quickly righted herself as she leaned against the banister. "Well, you're town offers one thing that I need, and that's a job. A few weeks ago, I got a call from this company that I signed on with after university. They send teachers overseas to teach English. I never thought that my first job would be in a small town in Virginia, USA. But apparently the English teacher at your school, Mrs. Lumley, is going on maternity leave and they were desperate to find someone to take her place. Like you said before, small town and all. They called my company, said that they needed someone to teach an English and a Spanish class, and my company called me."

"Oh, well that's cool. So you speak Spanish too?"

"Yeah, which reminds me that I need to contact my company and tell them that I have different living arrangements. They'll send you a check for a year's worth of rent."

"Good to know," Damon said from the top of the stairs.

Dani and Elena trudged behind the brothers, both a little out of breath from the climb. Damon motioned for them to follow him down the hall. He led them to a room that was at the very end of the hall. Stephen looked at Damon suspiciously. "Damon, isn't this-"

"Yeah." Damon turned to Dani, tilting his head towards the closed door. "This used to be our… uncle's room. It's one of the largest, and it has its own bathroom. Figured that you could use all the prep time you need. God knows I don't want to wait an hour to piss while you do your hair."

Dani smiled. "Thanks. That's very thoughtful of you Mr. Salvatore."

A grunt sounded from Damon. He reached out, balancing the box with one hand while he opened the door with the other. He stepped in, and then was followed by the other three.

Dani surveyed the space that she would be living in for the next year. The floor was done in wood, like the rest of the house. The walls were painted a vibrant red, and the ceiling was a light cream in color. The base boards were made from the same wood of the floors. A large four poster bed rested against the side wall to her right with a door that she guessed lead to the bathroom. A bookshelf stood to her left, along with a large armoire, and right across from her, a comfy looking window seat just tempted her to sit on the plush cushions and forget all her troubles.

Damon leaned against the wall, looking at her. He jerked his head to the room. "Well?"

Dani looked at him for a second before breaking out into a huge grin. Damon's eyes widened slightly at the change in her face. Her eyes lit up, her cheeks became pink with a light blush, and for lack of a better description, she glowed.

"Thank you Mr. Salvatore. This is… it's so much better than I expected. After that little spat between us, I was afraid that you'd stick me under the stairs or something."

Damon got over his surprise quickly, grunting. "I need that space for my collection of figurine unicorns. Let's get the rest of your stuff up here."

So for the next half hour, they brought the rest of Dani's things upstairs. Elena said that she had to go, so Dani thanked her for bringing her to the house and helping to move her stuff.

"It wasn't a problem. It was great meeting you, and we'll see each other again. I have English 5th period."

After Elena left, Dani felt a sudden blanket of awkwardness settle on her as she was left alone with the two Salvatores. She glanced at Stephen, who caught her eye and smiled. Dani smiled back at him. She glanced over at Damon, who caught her looking and scowled. He turned abruptly to the house. "If you think that I'll help you unpack, think again. Stephen," he said, addressing his brother, "The other tenants are coming tomorrow. Make sure that the rooms are clean and ready for them. I'm going out." Without another word, he sauntered off.

Beside her, Stephen sighed. "I wouldn't worry about him Ms. Court. He's like that all the time. Give him some time and I guarantee that he'll get bored with tormenting you. He has an attention span of magpie, always chasing after a shiny new toy." He sighed again and started to walk towards the house.

Dani followed Stephen into the house. "Would you mind if I helped?"

Stephen glanced over his shoulder in surprise. "You want to help me clean the other rooms?"

Dani shrugged. "Yeah. I wouldn't mind, and I would feel better if I helped around the house anyway. I'm not a freeloader, and even though I'm paying to stay here, I still like to earn my keep."

Stephen smiled at her. "Earn your keep?"

"I read a lot of historical romance."

* * *

Later that night, after Dani had finished unpacking and putting away her clothes, she heard a something scuffling down stairs. She cocked her head towards the door to see if she heard it again. There it was! Dani wiped her hands on the legs of pajama bottoms and went to the door.

She gasped in surprise when she found Stephen standing on the other side. "Stephen? What are you doing there?" Then suddenly remembering what had made her get up in the first place, she said, "I heard something downstairs! I was just going to check it out."

Stephen smiled. "Oh, don't worry about that. I already checked it out. It's just Damon and some…friends of his. I just came to tell you that they might make some noise, so you shouldn't worry about it."

"Oh." Dani glanced past Stephen, then smiled and nodded. "Ok, I understand. Thank you for telling me. Goodnight then Steph-"

A sudden crash sounded at the end of the hall. Dani poked her head through the door frame in time to see Damon and his…friends stumble up the stairs, two on each arm and giggling from too much alcohol.

One was blonde, the other brunette, and that's where the differences ended. Both were wearing the exact same outfit. Same shoes, same short dress, same gaudy necklace, same ridiculously large earrings. They even had the same face, tight and full of collagen.

To say the least, Dani was disappointed in Damon. From her first impression of him, Damon Salvatore had seemed like the kind of man who, even though rude and obnoxious, had shown unexpected bouts of intelligence and kindness. Sure he was rough around the edges, but she had seen something more to him than the callous attitude he had shown towards her. The man who had greeted Elena when she first arrived, the man who had forcibly taken a heavy box from her arms in exchange for a lighter one, the man who had retorted with whip lash sarcasm, was not the same man who was currently stumbling down the hall.

It took a moment for Damon to notice them standing there. When he did, he stopped in front of them, giving them a seemingly drunken smirk.

"Hello there. What are you two doing up so late? Something that I'd be up to, I hope," he winked.

"Actually, I just came over to see if Ms. Court was settling in alright," Stephen replied coldly. "And to tell her that she shouldn't worry if she hears any…strange noises. After all, she doesn't know how you can be with 'guests.'"

One of the twin's snuggled deeper into Damon's side, purring. "Damy, can we go to your room now? Mr. Cranky Pants and the Plaid Wonder are ruining my buzz."

Dani scowled and looked down at her green plaid pajama pants. She looked back at the post-hooker, giving her a once over. Not one to hide her emotions, her face gave away what she was thinking. _With that outfit on, this chick was giving __**me**__ fashion advice?_

Seeing her comical expression of disbelief, Damon allowed his mouth to quirk up. Her openness was actually refreshing, and the amazing part was, she probably wasn't even aware that she was doing it.

Oblivious of Damon's current thoughts, when Dani glanced in his direction and saw the smirk on his face, she figured that he was laughing at her too. Her scowl deepened.

Seeing that Dani's hostility had now turned toward him, Damon decided to cut the 'Three's Company' rerun short.

Hugging the twins close, he walked them towards a door a few down from Dani's. "As much as s I would just _love_ to stay and chat, I have some other important things to do. Sweet dreams kids. Remember no sugar before bed, or you might get sore tummies."

The girls beside him giggled as he talked to his brother and Dani as if they were children. He grinned along with them, and that grin would have stayed on his face too, if it hadn't been for the sight of Dani's face shadowed in disappointment right before he walked into his room.

* * *

Dani watched as Damon walked into his room after the inflatable bimbos. She shook her head in disappointment, then turned to Stephen to say goodnight. Stephen bid her goodnight, and walked away to his own room. She gave Damon's door one more glance before retreating to her room, closing the door quietly behind her.

She walked over to the bed, turning the sheets up. She had already replaced the old sheets with her own a little while ago, putting the others away in the closet. She climbed into bed, settling herself in the soft mattress. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. A smiled stretched on her face. It didn't matter that she was almost homeless, or that her landlord was a pompous, arrogant, sexy gigolo, and it certainly didn't bother her that she would have to live under a roof with him for year. No, that didn't matter. Not a bit.

A sudden knock broke her train of thought. "Who is it?"

"It's Damon."

Confused at his sudden appearance, Dani swung her legs down to the floor, and padded to the door. Cracking it open, she looked up at Damon's shadowed face.

"Can I help you?"

Damon smiled devilishly. "You know that I can hear you talking to yourself two doors down? You're pretty loud you know."

Dani blushed. "I was saying that out loud?" She was aghast with embarrassment. She closed her eyes in anguish as she moaned, "Oh god…"

Damon chuckled. "You know, I'm sort of glad that you moved in. You're a lot more interesting then Stephen anyway." He leaned in close so that when he spoke his next words, his breath fanned over her face. "I hope that you can stand living with a pompous, arrogant, _sexy_ gigolo for a little while. Heaven knows that I'll be having a lot of fun. Well, night."

With mouth open and silent, Dani watched as Damon walked back to his own room. He gave her a smile and a wink before disappearing inside his own room. She stood there for a few more seconds in embarrassed silence before she made her way to her own bed. She turned off the lights, and lay her head against her pillow. As sleep closed in on her, her thoughts turned to a vision of ice blue eyes. It was the last thing she remembered before she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

With "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace playing on the stereo, Damon sighed with boredom.

The girls he had dubbed 'Thing 1' and 'Thing 2' had taken off their identical dresses-thank god- around the same second that they entered the room. They were now gyrating and swaying to the music, trying to seduce Damon over. Rather unsuccessfully actually.

Damon sighed. He was getting hungry. He got up and wrapped an arm around each girl. They let out high pitched giggles that were almost enough to make his ears bleed. He turned to the one on his right, giving her a tired smile before focusing on her eyes.

"Go sit on the bed, and don't move," he commanded.

The girl's eyes went blank. She did as she was told and went to sit on the bed. He repeated, rinsed and washed the same command with the other, and she soon sat beside her friend.

He knelt before 'Thing 1' and lifted her leg so that the beck of her knee rested on top of his shoulder. He looked up at the girl and commanded, "You are not to make any noise." He turned to 'Thing 2' and said, "You are not to make any noise either. Understand?"

"Yes," they said together.

He bent his head and opened his mouth. The veins around his eyes bunched up, and his canine teeth elongating as he sunk his fangs into the soft flesh of 'Thing 1's thigh. She didn't make a sound as he drank his fill of her blood. After a few minutes, he withdrew and moved on to 'Thing 2'. When he was done with the both of them, he commanded them to forget everything that had happened that night and to go home to their own beds. Robotically, they got dressed and walked downstairs and out the door. To make sure that they got home, Damon followed them, not really in the mood to have Stephen lecture him on responsibility or some other righteous crap.

After they entered their own separate homes, which was somewhat of a surprise, Damon headed back to the boarding house. He was about to go back into his own room, but he paused, looking down the hall to Dani's door. He stood there debating with himself whether or not he should look in on her, but in the end decided against it. He stepped into his room and went to bed, wondering what the next day would bring.


	4. Introductions

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Chapter 4- Introductions**

As Dani was making a grilled cheese sandwich on the stove, a moving van pulled up to the house. Wanting to greet the new tenants since Damon was still in bed, and Stephen out with Elena, she figured that the responsibility to show the new tenants to their rooms fell on her.

Stephen had told her which tenants would be going in which rooms yesterday when she had helped him clean up.

There was a Mr. Henry McGregor, who was a retired firefighter of 75. Stephen had told her that he had moved down to Mystic Falls recently, just like her. He would be the only onr rooming downstairs.

The other tenant was a local lawyer by the name of David Zenna. He owned a small law firm in town and mostly dealt with property law. He would be taking the room next door to hers.

Turning off the stove and putting the hot sandwich on a plate to cool down, Dani made her way to the front door to welcome the newcomer.

She stepped outside to see the van pull up to the door. A large black truck followed and stopped behind it. Both vehicles cut off their engines and both drivers stepped out. The driver of the van was a heavy set man with a balding head and a big black moustache. He waved hello to Dani before moving to the back of the van.

She assumed that the driver from the truck was Mr. McGregor. Since he was a former firefighter, Dani expected a great big hulk of a man to come out of the truck, but she knew better than to believe the romance novels she was so fond of reading. Although, she wasn't disappointed when Mr. McGregor came into view.

At 6'3, with gleaming silver hair and the frame of a grizzly bear, Mr. McGregor pretty much fit the mental picture she had of a former firefighter. Although he was 75, he looked 10 years younger than he was. It was clear that he took care of himself, but then again, she figured that firefighters needed to be in top fit condition.

She watched as Mr. McGregor closed his car door and took a few moments to look around. When he turned to look at the house, he caught sight of her and brought a hand up into the air in greeting. He smiled as he walked over.

"Hello there lass!" He smiled widely as he took her hand in his, his larger one engulfing hers. "I'm Henry, and you are?" His voice was deep and smooth and it came with a rough Scottish brogue. His smile was also charming and boyish. Dani liked him immediately.

She smiled back at him as she said, "It's nice to meet you Henry. I'm Danielle, but you can call me Dani. I'll be living here too."

"Well now, it's nice to meet yeh Dani. Good to know that we'll have a pretty face around here. Yer no the owner are yeh?"

Dani shook her head. "No. The owner is, um… resting upstairs. I'm afraid that he might not be down for a while, so I'll be showing you to your room and helping you move in."

"Thank yeh lass. But I don't have a lot to move, plus I got Jack over there to help. Tell yeh what though, I haven't eaten since yesterday. Think that you might be kind enough to fix me something ta eat? I'd do it meself, but I'm all thumbs in the kitchen," he said chuckling.

Dani smiled, "It's not a problem. How does chicken and rice sound? I can have it ready in an hour."

Henry tilted his head in thanks. "That sounds wonderful lass."

"Great. Just let me show you to your room then."

Dani let Henry in and showed him to his room, which was next to the stairs. When Henry went off to help his friend grab the boxes, Dani went to the kitchen to fix Henry something to eat, and since she was there, she decided that she might as well make his friend something too.

She got some strips of chicken breast from the fridge, some rice from the pantry, the pots and pans to cook it all with, and set off cooking.

About halfway into cooking the meal, Damon made his way into the kitchen. He paused in the entryway when he saw Dani at the stove, her back to him. He watched her for a few minutes as she moved the chicken around the heated pan. She was very fluid in her movements, flipping the strips of meat to evenly cook them on both sides. She let them sit for a bit as she checked on the pot steaming next to the pan.

"I hope that some of that's for me."

Dani jumped at the sound of Damon's voice. As she spun to look at him, her hand made contact with the side of the pot. She yelped with pain as the heat seared her hand.

In the next instant, Damon was beside her, taking her hand to check the damage. He pulled her to the sink, turning on the cold water and sticking her hand under the faucet.

Dani hissed as the water ran over her reddening skin.

"Jeez, if you didn't have any more chicken, you could have said so. No need to burn off you own flesh. I'm not the Merchant of Venice you know."

Dani looked up at Damon with watery eyes. "This isn't funny. It really hurts."

Damon's gaze softened a bit. "I know. I was just trying to lighten the mood." He glanced at her hand. "Here, let me see it."

Dani slowly took her hand out from under the faucet. It didn't hurt as much as it did before, but all the skin along the side of her hand had turned red. Damon gently took her hand in his, turning it over to inspect it. He 'hmmed' before letting her hand go and stepping out of the kitchen. He came back a minute later with a jar and a dry cloth.

Without as much as a 'by your leave,' he set the jar and cloth on the kitchen table and proceeded to pick her up so that he could deposit her beside the jar and cloth. He then opened the jar, dabbed the cloth in whatever was inside, and then took her hand.

He looked up at her, the cloth poised over her hand. "This is a salve that will help with the burn. It will numb the pain and cool the skin so that it will heal faster. I'm just saying this to you now so that later, if something happens, you can't sue me and say that I didn't tell you what it was. So, can I put this on your hand?"

Dani nodded her consent. Damon carefully dabbed the salve on Dani's burn. She gave a light gasp as the cool cream coated her burn. After a few minutes, Damon put the cloth down and gently blew on the area he applied the cream to.

Dani couldn't help but stare at him. He was being so nice and careful with her. The touch of his fingers on her hand was so soft and gentle. The hair on his head looked pretty soft too…

"I use conditioner."

Dani snapped back into reality. "Huh?"

"I use conditioner. That's why my hair looks so soft."

Realizing that she had been talking out loud again, Dani blushed. "R-Really? I thought it was naturally like that." She rolled her eyes upward and mouthed, _Why me?_

Smirking, Damon righted himself. He closed the jar and put the cloth on the counter. "Wait right there," he said before leaving the kitchen again.

Dani watched him go and when he disappeared from sight, she caught a faint whiff of smoke. Gasping as she remembered the chicken and the rice still on the stove, she rushed over to the burning food, turning off the stove. She was about to reach for the pan handle when a hand reached past her and got it first.

"I thought I told you not to move."

Dani gazed up at Damon's scowling face, smiling apologetically. Damon sighed and pointed at the table. Dani walked over and leaned against it as Damon took care of the food on the stove. After he had moved both the pan and the pot to the side so they could cool down, he moved back to Dani.

"Hand."

Dani raised her hand. Damon took out a roll of wrapping from his pocket, and then proceeded to wrap Dani's hand. He wrapped her hand snuggly, and then finished it off with a small safety pin so that the wrapping wouldn't unravel.

"Alright, no strenuous movement from that hand from now on for at least a week. We have to put on the slave every morning and every night so it will heal faster."

"We?"

Damon looked in her eyes for a moment before nodding. "We."

Dani smiled. "Thank you Mr. Salvatore."

Damon grunted. "What were you doing anyway?" He looked over at the stove. "That's a bit too much food for just you."

"Actually, I made a grilled cheese sandwich earlier."

Damon noticed the plate with the sandwich.

"I was making the chicken and the rice for Henry, or Mr. McGregor. He arrived about 20 minutes ago, and I thought that I might make him and his friend some food since they said that they hadn't eaten in a while."

Damon raised his brow. "Really? Hmm, I wasn't expecting him until tomorrow. Don't worry about the food. I'll just order something in for you guys."

"Oh, ok. You don't want to eat with us?"

Even though he was surprised at the invitation, he automatically said, "No thanks."

From the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of disappointment run across Dani's face.

"Alright then. I'll just go tell them that we'll be eating take out," she said, and walked out of the kitchen.

Damon watched her go, feeling something that he hadn't felt in a long while. Guilt. What a pain in the ass. All because he made her disappointed? What the hell was wrong with him? Sighing with frustration, Damon dumped the ruined food in the trash, put the kitchenware in the sink and went to greet the new tenant.

When he walked into the hall, he saw Dani talking with a large man with silver hair and a wide grin. He recognized Mr. Henry McGregor from his interview with him a few days ago. He had liked the man well enough. He was friendly, honest and could be trusted to mind his own business. He walked up to them.

As Dani finished explaining what happened to her hand, Damon's voice sounded behind her. "Mr. McGregor, it's nice to see you again."

Henry looked past Dani shoulder to Damon. "Mr. Salvatore, it's nice to see yeh again too. Miss Dani here told me that you were ordering food for us. Thank you for that lad. Wouldn't want another accident to befall this wee girl here," he said patting Dani's shoulder.

Dani smiled up at Henry and Damon felt a small twinge of jealousy at the familiar way Henry touched Dani. He quickly shook the feeling off. He was about to say something else when he heard something outside.

"It looks like our last tenant has arrived."

"Really?" Dani walked over to the front door and poked her head out. Sure enough, a light brown station wagon pulled up into the driveway. The man that was practically the complete opposite of Henry stepped out of the car. He was a slight man, with thin hair and a pair of round wire-rimmed glasses. His nose was a bit too long for his face and he had the bushiest eyebrows she's ever seen.

"That's David Zenna."

Dani looked over her shoulder at Damon. "You know, you could stop doing that."

Damon looked down at her. "Doing what?"

"Sneaking up on me. Last time I burned my hand and nearly jumped out of my socks. You could give me some kind of warning."

Damon snorted. "Just your socks? I'm getting rusty. Next time I'll make sure you jump out of your pants."

Dani blushed and quickly turned her face away. Was he flirting with her?

Why the hell was he flirting with her? No Damon, bad Damon, can't flirt with tenants. You love Katherine, well used to love. Ever since he found out that bitch was alive and well this whole time, his feelings for her dimmed somewhat. Or rather, they completely disappeared. Since then, he'd gotten closer to Elena and started to develop feelings for her. She was kind, beautiful, smart, funny and she understood him when no one else was willing to. It was Elena that he cared for, not this ordinary little brown bird. He would have to be careful in the future, make sure that he pushed her away so that she wouldn't get any closer to him and vice versa.

Dani opened the front door further and stepped out to greet Mr. Zenna. She found that he was quite shy and quiet but she liked him well enough and thought that they would all get along in the future.

* * *

It took until 9 o'clock for Mr. Zenna and Henry to be completely moved into the boarding house. Saying goodnight to them, Dani headed to her room.

When she opened the door, she noticed a jar sitting on her nightstand next to a clean wash cloth. She was confused for a moment before she recognized that the jar on her nightstand was the same one that Damon had gotten the salve from. She walked up to it and saw that the jar was sitting on a note. She took out the note from beneath the jar and read it.

_Sorry, but something came up._

_You can do this yourself, right?_

_D._

Dani looked down at the jar, her face a little sad. She shrugged though, pushing her twinge of sadness aside. If he was busy, then he was busy, it was none of her business.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, taking off the safety pin and unraveling the binding around her hand. She took the cloth, opened the jar and applied the cream on her burn. After she was done, she redid the binding and pinned it together. She turned her hand over, admiring her handiwork. Thank God that it was her left hand that was burned and not her right, otherwise, she'd be having a lot more difficulty with things.

Dani put the jar in the little cabinet above her bathroom sink, and rinsed the wash cloth until it was clean. She hung the cloth on a little hook to the side, and then got ready for bed, quickly falling asleep against the soft pillow.


	5. Fresh Meat

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Chapter 5- Fresh Meat**

Dani flitted around the kitchen making breakfast. She hummed to herself as she waited for her bagel to come out of the toaster, her butter knife and cream cheese ready to attack. Pop! She quickly grabbed the hot bread, dropping the slices onto a plate.

Quickly spreading the white cheese, she glanced at the clock to see that it was nearly eight o'clock. Stuffing the bagel in her mouth, she grabbed her keys, slung her messenger bag over her shoulder and headed out the door.

Locking up behind her, she walked over to her car and put her things in the passenger seat. Chewing on her mouthful of bagel, she put the key into the ignition. She hummed with the song on the radio as she pulled out of the driveway. Ten minutes later, she found herself in the parking lot of Mystic Falls High School, down one bagel and up one job.

"Mystic Falls high School, here I come!"

* * *

Damon yawned. Walking into the kitchen barefoot, he was greeted by Henry at the toaster making breakfast.

"Hello there lad! Do yeh want some breakfast? I'm afraid all I made was toast. Never been one for cooking ye ken. My Ella was the one who cooked. Bless her heart, she could make yeh a cake with just flour and an egg."

"Ella? Was that your wife then? Why aren't you living with her?"

Damon watched as Henry face turned from its usual jovial self to a more somber expression. "Ah, well, my Ella died oer a year ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Henry gave Damon a sad smile before turning back to the toaster. The toast popped up and Henry grabbed the browned slices and put a couple on a plate, then passed it to Damon.

"Thanks," Damon said, taking a slice of bread. He bit into it then realized something. Where was Dani?

Henry, noticing Damon looking around, smiled. "If you're wondering where the lass is, she went ta school."

"School?"

"Aye. Didn't the lass say that she was working at the high school? Today was her first day lad. Excited she was too. I hope that she has a good day, nice lass like her deserves to."

Damon nodded his agreement. "Yeah." He bit into his toast.

* * *

Dani walked into her classroom. _Her_ classroom! She gave a little squeal of excitement as she rushed over to the desk. _Her_ desk! She ran her hands over the polished wood, her smile bright on her face. The bell hadn't rung yet, so for now, she had the room to herself. She walked around and looked at the walls were pictures of Shakespeare, Margaret Atwood, Ernest Hemingway, and many more legendary authors covered the walls.

In the back of the room was a bare bulletin board. Leaning against one of the student desks, Dani looked up at the board and decided to decorate it somehow. Maybe she could put a quote on it, one of her favorites. She had a small notebook full of quotes, so picking one wouldn't be a problem. As for decoration, she could go to a local gift shop or something to see what they had…

"Actually, there's a craft shop next to the library. They carry pretty good stuff for crafting and scrap booking."

Jumping away from the desk, Dani turned towards the voice that spoke behind her. A handsome man with sand colored hair and a dark shadow of a beard was leaning against the door frame of her classroom.

Dani sighed. "I was talking to myself, wasn't I?"

Chuckling, the man nodded.

Dani laughed quietly. "Sorry about that. I tend to…do that a lot. Even when I don't want to."

The man shrugged. "Not a problem. I've seen stranger. Are you the new teacher taking over for Gail?"

"Mrs. Lumley? Yes, I am." She walked over, sticking her hand out. "I'm Danielle Court, and you are?"

"Alaric Saltzman, history teacher," he said as he shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you Ms. Court."

"Dani, please," she said, waving off the formality.

Alaric smiled. "Dani then." The sound of a bell sounded throughout the building. Alaric gave Dani a farewell wave. "See you later then Dani. Don't let the kids eat you alive. They can smell fresh meat."

Laughing nervously, Dani waved goodbye. After he disappeared from her sight, she went to sit at her desk, ready to take on the upcoming day.

* * *

Dani groaned as the final bell rang. She was just getting to the good part of the soliloquy, but she guessed that that she would have to continue tomorrow.

As the students started packing away their books, Dani called out, "Remember your assignment to convert one of Shakespeare's soliloquy's into your own words is due next week. Have a nice day everyone!"

Dani packed away her material and followed the students out the door, locking it behind her. As she was walking down the front steps of the school, she was stopped by a well dressed older woman.

"Excuse me, but might you be Ms. Danielle Court, the replacement for Gail Lumley?"

Dani smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am she. Is there something that I can help you with Ms…"

"Lockwood, Mrs. Carol Lockwood. I'm here to talk with you about the upcoming festivities for Founders Day."

"Oh? I heard that Founders Day was a few weeks from now, wasn't it? It's when everyone celebrates when the town was founded, right? It sounds like a lot of fun. Why would you need to talk to me about it?"

"Yes well, the thing is that Gail, Mrs. Lumley, was in charge of the concert that was supposed to take place after the parade, and I'm afraid that with the baby due, she won't be able to do her duties."

Dani waited for her to get to the point, not catching on.

"Well dear, I was wondering if you could fill in for her. After all, you're already filling in for her teaching position, so why not this?"

Dani gaped at her. "W-What? Mrs. Lockwood, I can't poss-"

"Oh thank you so much dear. I look forward to working with you. And you'll meet so many people while you go about with your little concert project! It's the perfect way to assimilate yourself into our little town." She started to walk away while saying, "The parade council meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7! Don't be late!" With that a flip of her hair, Mrs. Lockwood walked off, leaving Dani standing on the steps, dumbfounded.

"Did I just get blind-sided?"

* * *

Typing up a lesson plan on her laptop, Dani started to think about what she would do with the whole band problem. It was Wednesday night at the Mystic Grill, and yesterday she had learned that she needed a band by next Thursday! She had tried to contact Mrs. Lumley, but none of her calls had been returned so far. Not that she blamed Mrs. Lumley for that. She did blame her for not finding a band though.

"I mean come on," she mumbled. "Who takes on a concert and doesn't even find a band to play for it?"

"Lazy people I'm assuming."

Dani looked up at a young woman around her own age, with blue eyes, a friendly smile and strawberry colored hair.

"I couldn't help overhear-"

"Me talking to myself? Yeah, I do that a lot actually." She smiled up at the other woman. "So far it seems like a good way to meet people."

The woman chuckled. She gestured to the seat across from Dani. "May I?"

"Please."

The woman sat down and introduced herself. "I'm Jenna Sommers, and you are?"

"Danielle Court. It's nice to meet you Ms. Sommers."

"Jenna, please."

"Only if you call me Dani."

Jenna smiled. "Deal. So what was it that I heard about a concert and a band?"

Dani sighed, her shoulders slumping. She recounted the whole thing to Jenna, the way Mrs. Lockwood had cornered her, how Mrs. Lumley wouldn't return her calls, and how she was expected to find a band to play the concert by the next Thursday.

Jenna listened attentively to Dani as she talked. When she finished, Jenna whistled. "That's a bitch to deal with."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a moment, and then Jenna said, "You know, I'm going to go see an old college buddy of mine this Saturday. He's a guitar player in a band and they're pretty good. They'll be playing at a club down in Richter Hills, would you like to come? I'm sure that I can talk to him into playing for the concert."

Dani's eyes widened. "Really? You would do that for me?"

Jenna shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

Dani grinned with relief. "That sounds fantastic. Thank you so much Jenna."

Jenna waved off Dani's thank you. "It's not a problem. How about I pick you up around seven on Saturday and we'll head to the club? We'll stick around afterward to talk to the band."

Making their plans for Saturday, Jenna and Dani branched off into other topics and were able to learn many things about each other.

"So Elena is your niece then?"

Jenna nodded as she took a sip of her beer. "Yeah. Elena and Jeremy's parents died about half a year ago. At first, it was really bad. Elena wouldn't talk for days, and Jeremy… Well he dealt with his sadness another way."

"How do you mean? Or shouldn't I ask?"

Jenna shook her head. "It's ok, I'll tell you. You see, before their parents passed away, those two were really different. Elena was a real socialite before. She'd go to all the parties, she was a star cheerleader, and she took part in all major school activities. After the accident though, she retreated into herself, cutting off everyone and everything. She matured fast, much too fast for someone her age. And Jeremy, he was a good student, had lots of friends. Not as popular as his sister, but he was well liked."

She paused to take another sip from her beer. "Jeremy stopped hanging with his usual friends and started hanging out with the stoners and pot heads. He hung around them so much that he started picking up their habits. His grades dropped, he skipped class, and he started drinking. Then the weirdest thing happened."

"What?"

"His friend disappeared from town, and it was like he did a one-eighty turn. He started doing his homework again, stopped the drugs, started going to school; it was like a miracle. Then they found his friends dead body out in the woods."

Dani gasped. "No."

Jenna nodded sadly. "Yeah. Poor Vicky." She jerked her head to the side. "That's her older brother over there, Matt."

Dani turned to see a young man with blond hair and a handsome face clearing a table. "I know him. He's in my 5th period English class."

"Yeah. He's a good kid. Used to date Elena, but they broke up a while ago. He's going out with Caroline Forbes now, one of Elena's friends," Jenna said, then glanced at her watch. She winced. "Crap, I gotta go, sorry. But hey, I'll see you Saturday ok? Bye Dani."

Dani waved bye as she watched Jenna walk out of the bar.

Not long after Jenna left, Dani packed her things and headed back to the boarding house to finish up her work.

* * *

Yawning, Dani closed her laptop. She looked at the clock, and saw that it read11:30pm. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Dani made her way slowly up the stairs to her room. Opening the door, she bee-lined for the bathroom. A few minutes and a flush later, she came back out with the salve jar and the wash cloth.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she went through the routine that she had been repeating every morning and every night for the past couple of days. Bandage off, salve on, bandage on. Yawning once again, she closed the jar. Placing the jar and her cloth on her nightstand, Dani changed into her pajamas and hopped into bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	6. Saturday Night

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Chapter 6- Saturday Night**

Damon moved through a sea of people to get to the bar. He ordered a martini from the bartender and waited for his drink. He caught the eye of a busty blond at the end of the bar and sent her a playful wink. She smiled at him, giving him a 'come hither' look with her hooded eyes. He smirked as the bartender set his drink before him. No matter how old you got, some things never changed.

Sipping on the drink, he leaned against the bar and surveyed the room. The place wasn't packed, but it was hard to move without brushing elbows with someone. It was a good turnout for sure. He'd be able to find some good company tonight.

"Hey bartender!"

_Hey, I know that voice, isn't that Jenna?_ Damon thought as he turned his head in the direction of her voice and felt his thoughts come to a screeching halt.

Standing beside Jenna was a total knockout brunette. She had smoky brown eyes that flashed with humor and wit. Her mouth looked soft, and she had a lower lip that just tempted you to take a nibble. Her short hair was styled into an attractive faux hawk, and her dress! It hugged every curve of her body in all the right ways. Just the way that it hugged her round hips, it was like… Wait a minute. Was that Dani!

Shocked, Damon watched as _**Dani**_ and Jenna grabbed their drinks from the bar and made their way into the crowd. Forgetting his own drink, Damon followed them, making sure to keep to the shadows.

He followed the pair to the back, where a bouncer who looked meaner than a bull waved them through the door. Damon decided to wait for them until they came back out, and if they didn't…well, no one really like 'Mad Damon' now did they?

* * *

Dani shifted nervously in her heeled feet. She and Jenna were standing outside the dressing room of the Flying Wheels, waiting to be let in. Tech people and roadies walked past her as they set up for the show. Finally, the door opened and they were ushered in.

Jenna was immediately swept up in a bear hug by a man with long sandy hair and a well trimmed beard.

"Tony! It's so good to see you! How have you been?"

As Jenna and Tony chatted about the good old days, Dani stood in the back, trying to blend in. Unfortunately, she was never one to blend in. Her gaze wondered around the room until they unexpectedly clashed with a pair of watery blue eyes. They belonged to a greasy little man with an off blonde comb-over and thin, mean lips, which were currently puckering themselves in her direction.

Trying to hide her disgust, she turned her head away right in time to catch Jenna turning towards her.

"Tony," Jenna said as she reached out to Dani, "This is Danielle Court. She's in charge of getting a concert together for Founder's Day. I thought of you and that maybe you and your band will be willing to play for us."

Tony scratched his beard. "Well, I'd love to Jen, but it's not really my decision. You're going to have to talk with our manager if you want to book the Flying Wheels for Founder's Day."

"Ok, so which in here is the manager?"

Dani watched in fascinated horror as Tony's finger pointed towards the small, greasy man. She groaned inwardly, dreading getting anywhere near him, but for the sake of Founder's Day, she'd suck it up.

Putting on a grim smile, she let Jenna lead her to the man. She learned that his name was Mr. Lester Hamilton and he had been the manager of the band for 5 years. His hand was warm and sweaty when Dani shook it, and his eyes had the unfortunate habit of falling to her chest.

_Lester_, as he preferred to be called, said that since the band was about to perform, he didn't have any time to talk business, but said he and the band would join them on the dance floor after they played their sets.

Dani agreed whole heartedly. The less time she had to spend around the man, the better. She and Jenna said goodbye to the band and walked out to join the rest of the club crowd. They grabbed a seat at a table to watch the show, and as the lights dimmed to welcome the band, Dani couldn't help but feel a little shiver of foreboding crawl up her spine.

* * *

After listening to a few of their songs, Dani thought the Flying Wheels were pretty good. They had some nice melodies, and good lyrics. She smiled at Jenna when they stepped off stage, giving her a thumbs up. Jenna grinned back and motioned that she was going to the bar for another drink.

Dani waited at the table for Jenna to come back. After about a minute, she felt a hand tap her shoulder. She turned, and felt her good mood check out for the night. Lester, or Leecher as Dani had dubbed him, stood behind her chair, a confident smile on his face as he looked at her.

"So I take it that you liked the show," he said. His tone insinuated that he _knew_ she liked the show. He didn't bother to ask if she did like it, and that annoyed Dani. This man didn't know her, and shouldn't talk like he did.

"Yes, I did. I thought that the music was very original, and I especially loved the lyrics to the song-"

"Now hush dear. There's no need to act smart with me," he chuckled. "You've already impressed me in so many…other ways."

Dani repressed the curl of her lip.

Leecher moved closer and put a hand on her bare knee. "Tell you what baby, why don't you and me head out back and talk about the plans for your little concert." His fingers tightened on her knee. "I'm sure that we can work out a deal that makes _everyone_ happy."

Dani pushed his hand away roughly. She stood up, towering over him as best as her 5'9 frame would let her. She looked down at him angrily before saying, "Mr. Hamilton, I will not take this kind of talk or behavior. I came here today to talk business."

"Well of course. Why don't we find someplace quieter to talk then?" Grinning, he grabbed her arm in a surprisingly strong grip and dragged her to the back stage door. The bouncer let them through without looking twice, even ignored the fact that Dani was trying to dislodge herself from Leecher.

It wasn't until they were inside the empty dressing room that he let her go.

Tumbling into the room, Dani began to feel very afraid. Quickly, she went over the different ways she could defend herself in her head, taking caution to not actually say anything out loud.

She watched as Leecher locked the door and turned to her, a hungry gleam in his eye.

"Mr. Hamilton-"

"I told you to call me Lester."

"I know, but I don't think it would be very professional if we-"

Lester moved closer to her, undoing his tacky tie. "Damn professionalism. I want you baby, and I know you want me too."

Dani made a face, and not a happy one.

She moved behind the couch as Leecher made it to the other side.

"Mr. Hamilton, please-"

"That's right baby, beg for it."

Dani quickly took off one of her heels. She brandished it in front of her.

"I mean it Mr. Hamilton, stop it!"

"Or what?" He skittered closer. "You'll punish me? Oh baby, that gets me so hot."

Dani glanced at the door, which was now unobstructed. If she could just get to it…

Glancing at Leecher, and seeing his dangerous expression filled with lust and lunacy, Dani made up her mind. She dashed around the couch and ran for the door. She almost made it before she felt the pair of bony arms close around her waist and bear her to the ground.

Crying out in fear, Dani swung her shoe backwards, hoping to catch Leecher off guard. Hearing a masculine cry of pain, Dani guessed that she got him.

"You bitch!"

Dani felt herself being forcibly turned around to face the crazed man, and was so panicked that she didn't see his hand coming towards her.

The force with which he slapped her snapped her head back. She was dazed for a few moments before she noticed that Leecher was no longer on top of her. She looked up and saw a man standing with his back to her, a back that looked very familiar.

A whimper reached her ears, and she looked around the muscular jean clad legs to see Leecher cowering on the floor a little a ways from her.

"Are you ok?"

Stunned, Dani stared up at her landlord. "Mr. Salvtore?"

Turning to look back at her, he asked again, "Are you ok Dani?"

Dani nodded slowly, her brown eyes locked on his blue ones. Damon nodded once in satisfaction before turning back to Leecher.

"Dani, I want you to go wait in my car outside. You know which one it is. I'll be out to drive you home as soon as I deal with this _piece of shit_."

Dani shivered at the sound of his voice. It was filled with cold malice and unbridled rage. She hesitated a moment, scared of what Damon might do to the little man cowering on the floor. Sure he had tried to hurt her, but she wouldn't want Damon to get blood on his hands because of her.

As if reading her thoughts, Damon said, "Don't worry, I won't hurt him."

Slowly, Dani got up from off the floor and unlocked the door. Taking one last look at Damon's rigid back, she stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Damon didn't take his eyes off of Hamilton until he was sure that Dani was out of the hall. He followed the sound of her heels until she exited out of the back door and into the club.

After the back door closed behind Dani, he focused all his attention on the worm in front of him.

This man, no, this insect, had dared to try to force Dani into… Argh! He didn't even want to think about it. If it had been anyone else, he would have ripped this guy's throat out and left him to bleed in his own filth, but sadly that would just cause problems. Problems he couldn't deal with.

Glaring at the bug in front of him, he decided to do the only thing he really could. He stepped forward and grabbed Hamilton by the back of his collar. Squeaking in fright, Hamilton looked up at him with watery eyes. With a curled lip of disgust, Damon slammed him against the wall and looked into his eyes, his pupils contracting.

"You will forget everything that happened tonight. You did not accost Danielle Court, you discussed business. That's it. And because you found Ms. Court so charming and genuine, you will do the Founder's Day concert pro-bono. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Hamilton said tonelessly.

Damon smiled. "Good. Oh, and one more thing Hamilton. If you ever try to force a woman to do something with you that she doesn't want to do, let this image flash in your mind."

Damon let his fangs grow longer and his eyes turn red as he looked down at Hamilton. The little man looked at him with a mixture of fear and awe.

"You should be very afraid Lester; very afraid."

With that said he opened his mouth in a hiss and struck.

* * *

Lester woke up with a start. He was lying on the couch in the dressing room, alone. He rubbed his head.

"Damn, what the hell did I drink?"

He didn't remember much, just something about playing a pro-bono gig in some town called Mystic Falls…

He shrugged. Whatever, if he said he would do it, he would. Listening to the sound of music through the walls, Lester figured that he hadn't been asleep for long. He rubbed his hands in anticipation. He still had a chance to have some fun tonight. He had had his eye on this little blond near the bar that-

Suddenly, the image of a monstrous face with long fangs and red eyes flashed through his mind. The image felt so real that he gave out a cry of fear. But as suddenly as the image appeared, it disappeared.

Lester sat there, sweating from fear. His breath came out in frightened pants.

"Maybe I should just go home."

* * *

The drive back to the boarding house was spent in silence. Dani had found Jenna and told her that she would be going home early. Telling Jenna that she would call her tomorrow, Dani made her way outside and found Damon's Camero. The doors were open and she sat in the passenger's seat, waiting.

When Damon walked out of the club about 10 minutes later, Damon got into the driver's seat without saying anything. Dani had opened her mouth to say something, but had thought better of it and stayed silent.

When they got to the boarding house, they both got out of the car and walked in the front door. Dani started to walk up the stairs, but was stopped by Damon's hand on her arm. He steered her to the kitchen, where he deposited her on the kitchen table once again.

She watched as Damon went to the fridge and opened the freezer. He took out an ice pack and wrapped it in a dish towel. He moved towards Dani and was about to place the cold pack against her already bruising cheek when Dani brought up a hand to stop him.

"I can do it myself."

"Oh really? Cause it looked like you were handling that situation back at the club rather well too."

Dani felt anger well up inside of her. "Look, I'm grateful that you showed up when you did, and took me home. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for that. But I can take care of myself now, so you don't need to worry."

Damon snorted. "Please. It always seems that I'm taking care of you."

"Like my burned hand?"

Damon looked down at her. Her eyes were downcast, letting her eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks. He took her chin with his fingers, and forced her to meet his gaze.

"I'm… I'm sorry that I didn't help you to take care of your burn like I said I would. But I-"

"But what? You were too busy, right? That's fine! Like I said, I can take care of myself! I don't need you to look after me!" Pushing him away, she hopped off the table and made for the stairs again.

Damon blocked her way. Not caring or wondering how he had yet again been so fast as to get in front of her, Dani tried to get around him. He blocked her again and again. Finally, Dani looked up at Damon on the verge of tears and asked, "What do you want from me?"

Damon put his arms around her and held her close. Dani's surprise at this unexpected show of compassion broke the hold on her emotions and she started to cry.

Holding onto Damon, Dani sobbed into his shirt. Damon rubbed her back and whispered nonsensical things to her. After a few minutes, Dani's sobbing subsided and she sniffed as she pulled away from Damon.

"I'm s-so sorry. I just…I just needed to…"

"I know. After what you went through tonight, it's not unreasonable for you to behave like that. You've probably never had to deal with slime like him anyway. Now, since you're done crying, do you mind if I take care of that bruise?"

Dani shook her head. Damon sighed and took her hand, leading her to the kitchen. He picked up the pack and placed it gently against her cheek. With the other hand, he wiped away the tear tracks on her face with his fingers.

"Mr. Salvatore?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that…We could be friends?"

Damon stopped stroking her cheek. She was looking up at him with her big, brown eyes, waiting for his answer.

To say that Damon was stunned was an understatement. No one, not in his long lifetime, had anyone asked to be his friend. But this girl, no, this woman, with her innocent gaze and kind soul wanted to be friends with someone like him.

Noticing that Damon wasn't saying anything, Dani started to babble. "I know that-that you may not like me all that much since you've been avoiding me, but you've saved me, and you've been really nice to me since I moved in, and I thought that maybe, if you wanted, we could be friends and then-"

A large hand covered her mouth. Damon felt his own mouth stretch into something that wasn't a smirk or a scowl. He smiled down at Dani, his cold eyes warmer than before as they shone happily in the light.

Dani's breath caught in her throat as she looked upon a different Damon. This one she had never seen, and she had a feeling that not a lot of people saw it either. As he smiled down at her, she couldn't help but smile into his hand.

Removing his hand from her mouth, Damon said, "You know what Dani, I'd like to be friends."

Dani's smile grew wider. "Really? Thank you Mr. Salvatore."

"Call me Damon."


	7. Founder's Day: Part One

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Author's Notes**: This chapter takes place during the season finale of Vampire Diaries, only I mixed in Dani into it. Hope you like it!

**Chapter 7- Founder's Day: Part 1**

Dani cursed as she tripped over the hem of her dress for the fifth time that morning. It was ten o'clock and the Founder's Day parade would be starting in an hour. People were bustling all around her as they set up and prepared the floats for the parade.

Presently, she was trying to avoid Mrs. Lockwood who had been trying to corner since she arrived. The annoying woman was scurrying around somewhere right now, telling someone what to do, or ordering someone to move a bunch of chairs, or eating a pie that she baked from the fingers and toes of small children. Just the sound of her voice gave her goosebumps.

Grabbing a handful of sky blue cloth, Dani lifted her longs skirts as to avoid tripping yet again. Her plan didn't turn out quite the way she wanted since she seemed to miss picking up some of the hem, which her foot was kind enough to find.

Stumbling forward, Dani hit her bonneted head against something. Looking up, she saw that it was a person.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you. Are you ok? Jeez, this dress…"

The man smiled at her as she righted herself. "It's not a problem, really. Are you alright though? Seems like you have your hands full."

Dani looked down at her blue regency styled dress. The dress was free flowing until it came to her bust, where it cinched itself neatly to show off her curves. The style was simple, yet elegant and it kept her cool under the sun.

"It's just that this dress isn't mine you see. It was made for a pregnant woman, so the front of the dress is longer than the back, and it's a little difficult to walk around in it without tripping."

The man chuckled. "Yes, I see that." He looked at her face, studying. "Aren't you the new English teacher at the high school? The one who's living at the old boarding house?"

Dani blinked in surprise. "Why, yes I am. I'm surprised that you knew that."

"Well, my niece and nephew are Elena and Jeremy Gilbert."

Dani's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I didn't know that Jenna was married."

Chuckling, the man was about to answer when a voice behind Dani answered for him. "He's not."

Dani turned to see Damon. She smiled in greeting. Damon walked up to them and put an arm around Dani's shoulders. Confused at the public display of affection, Dani looked up at Damon with her brows raised.

"If you do that, you'll get wrinkles."

Pouting, Dani lowered her brows.

Smiling, Damon turned his attention to Jonathan Gilbert. "Jon, so good to see you out and about. How are you enjoying Founder's Day? I hear the cotton candy is to _die_ for."

Jon smiled back at him humorlessly. His gaze fell on Dani once again. "Like Damon said before, I'm not married. Jenna is my sister-in-laws sister. My brother was Elena and Jeremy's father." His hand reached out, palm up. "I'm Jonathan Gilbert."

Dani clasped his hand in hers and almost immediately had the urge to let go. She couldn't quite say, but there was something about Jonathan Gilbert that she didn't quite like. Maybe it was the way his eyes shifted, like he was just pretending to be nice and polite with her.

She smiled anyways. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Gilbert. My name is Danielle Court." She didn't bother telling him to call her Dani. She felt like she didn't want this man using any familiar terms with her.

Shaking her hand firmly, Jon looked to the side at Damon. He gave him a small smile, which Damon returned with a glare. Letting go of Dani's hand, Jon moved back a step, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Well, I hope that you enjoy Founder's Day Ms. Court. I most certainly will." With a nod of his head, he walked off.

Damon watched him go, his hand tightening on Dani's shoulder protectively.

"You don't like him, do you?"

Damon looked down at her. Her face was upturned to him, her brown eyes curious but careful. He turned his body to her, putting his other hand on her other shoulder so that he had her full attention.

"Dani, listen carefully. I don't want you around that guy alone. If you ever see him walking down a dark street, walk the other way. He doesn't like me, and it's not a stretch to say that he might try to hurt me through you."

Dani took out a small note pad and a pen from her small purse. She flipped to a blank page and scribbled something down, mumbling, "Warning…Jonathan…Gilbert…"

Damon chuckled and flicked the brim of her white bonnet. "Smart ass."

Dani grinned as she tilted her skewed hat into the right position. "Takes on to know one."

Damon snorted. Taking note of her dress, he gestured towards it. "What with the dress?"

Dani looked down at herself and pinched some of the fabric, fanning the material out. "This death trap? It used to be Mrs. Lumley's. She was originally going to march in the parade, but with the baby due in a few weeks, she can't strain herself too much. Mrs. Lockwood made me give her my measurements so that a seamstress could fix the dress for me. Thing is, she just fixed the top half so it fit me. The front is too long because it's made to cover a baby belly, which I don't have."

Grinning in spite of himself, Damon pinched some on the blue fabric himself, picking it off the ground. "So… You keep tripping over it, don't you?"

Dani stuck out her lower lip, and gave him her best puppy dog eyes as she nodded pitifully.

Damon snorted. "You've been practicing that haven't you?"

Dani's sad face instantly transformed as she grinned. She looked at the ground, swishing her skirts shyly. "Yeah…"

"Keep practicing."

Dani punched Damon lightly on the shoulder. After the night when Damon saved her from Leecher, they had gotten more comfortable with each other. It was like they fell back into an old routine that felt natural to both of them, like they had done it before.

They wandered around for a bit until Mrs. Lockwood called everyone to the starting point of the parade. Dani waved bye to Damon and walked to her starting position. For the next hour and a half, the parade marched from one end of town to the other. Dani waved to the people of Mystic Falls, a happy smile on her face. For the first time since moving, she felt like she was home, like she belonged.

Catching sight of Damon in the crowd, she waved at him. Damon smiled and waved back, but Dani noticed that it wasn't at her. She looked forward to the float in front of her, the one that held the Mystic Falls Queen and her court. Elena and Stephen were on that float, waving to the crowd.

She looked back at Damon, her smile gone. Suddenly, the feeling of home didn't feel so great after all.

* * *

Dani sighed as she looked out into the crowd that was gathering for the concert. People were setting up the equipment behind the stage curtain. Joe, the bands lead singer, strode up to her.

He clapped her lightly on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about anything ok? Everything is going good. We're almost all set up for the show, and the equipment is all working."

"Let's hope it stays that way," Dani said, giving him a tired smile.

Saying goodbye and good luck to the band, Dani walked off the stage. She sat on a bench across the street where she could hear the concert without having her eardrums explode.

As the band started up and started to play their first song, Dani started to think about Damon and her relationship with him. For the past week, they had found a rhythm in which they were both comfortable. She had shared things with him, little things about her life that she would tell any friend of hers. He hadn't shared much with her, but he had listened, and that had meant something to her. He even remembered what she had said too!

She sighed and looked up at the darkening sky. She knew that Damon was a good man, even though he made crude jokes, pushed people away, and seemed like that whatever he did, it was for his own personal gain, but… She figured that since everyone thought of him as the bad brother, he was simply living up to their expectations. She wasn't sure if that was true or not, she wasn't a mind reader, but she just had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that he was better than he acted.

Not that she would change him in any way. Damon was Damon, plain and simple. He was fun and witty and sexy and smart and… So many other things that she couldn't name all at once. She guessed that what she loved about him. Loved… Dani sat up straighter. Love? Did she love Damon Salvatore? No. Maybe. Yes. Maybe. How could she? It had only been a few weeks that she had known him, and no one could fall in love that fast, could they?

It's not like he loved her. Not with the way he looked at Elena today. She was the one that he was in love with, not her. And who could blame him? Elena was practically perfect with her bright smile, charm, and gentleness. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Elena was good people. It was just too bad that Stephen was dating her. Not that they didn't make a nice couple. They loved each other for sure, but it would be nice if Damon got a chance instead of watching from the sidelines. She hoped that he found someone who loved him. He deserved that much.

The band finished and applause sounded through the square. Dani clapped along with everyone else and stood up from the bench. Suddenly hearing her name being called out, Dani winced when she saw Mrs. Lockwood walking towards her. Dragging her feet, Dani went to meet Mrs. Lockwood halfway, not aware of the figure that stepped out of the shadows behind the bench she was sitting at, nor the blue eyes that followed her down the street.

* * *

"Wonderful concert Ms. Court, just wonderful! I have to admit, I didn't think that you could pull it off and was afraid that I would have to get the school band to do the concert!" Mrs. Lockwood laughed while Dani chuckled reluctantly.

"Well, anyway, good job." Patting Dani's arm, Mrs. Lockwood smiled. "Maybe next year, you can take care of the concert again, hm?" Mrs. Lockwood started to walk off before turning back to Dani. "I hope that you stay for the fireworks Ms. Court. It's going to be quite a show!" Waving her fingers in a small 'too-da-loo' she walked off into the night.

Dani glanced at her watch. It was a quarter to 12, and from the way her eyelids kept drooping, she figured that she ought to be getting home. She was exhausted from the day's activities, and she would like nothing more than to cuddle up in her sheets and go to sleep.

She was a bit surprised to see Damon standing behind her when she turned around. "Hey. I haven't seen you since this morning. Did you like the concert? Are you going to stay for the fireworks, cause I'm heading home so…"

Damon didn't answer her, just looked at her with an emotion swirling in his eyes that she couldn't place. His face was grim and tight, and something about his body language seemed off.

She moved closer to him and put a hand on his arm. "Damon? Is everything ok?"

Her touch seemed to snap him out of his thoughts. His face softened a bit when he looked down at her. He removed her hand from his arm and squeezed it before letting go.

"You look tired," he said. "You should go home. I'm gonna stay for a little while longer and make sure that Henry and Stephen get home ok."

Dani nodded. "Ok. Last time I saw Henry, he was walking into the Mystic Grill."

"Kay." Damon raised his hand and cupped Dani's cheek unexpectedly. Dani felt her heart speed up at the soft touch. "Damon…"

"I'll see you at home, ok?" To Dani's disappointment, his hand slipped away from her cheek. He smiled at her before stepping around her and walking away. Dani stood there on the street for a moment before mentally slapping herself. She must have been really tired because for a second there, one, tiny, miniscule second, she thought that Damon was going to kiss her. She snorted. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.

Dani found her car, got in and started the engine. Taking one last look at the happy crowd behind her, Dani drove back to the boarding house.

* * *

As Damon watched Jon stake Anna through the heart 25 minutes later, his thoughts turned to Dani. When he heard her talking to herself on the bench, he figured that she was getting all sentimental over their new buddy-buddy routine. But when the conversation with herself got more…emotional, that's when he realized that he had some feelings for Dani that went a little beyond friendship.

He thought she was cute, and funny, and smart, and many other things. What he liked most about her though were her quirks. The way she talked to herself without realizing was one of them. When she was cooking she hummed, when she was listening to a song in the car or on the radio she mouthed along with the lyrics, and she never hid what she was thinking. He just had to look at her face to know what was going through her mind.

Jon had now grabbed a can of gasoline and was sloshing the thick liquid over the other vampires and the floor. As he made his way up the stairs, he coated the steps with gasoline as well. He lit a match when he reached the top and let it fall so that the fire covered the steps, moving down to consume the immobile bodies near the stairs before spreading further.

Trying desperately to get up and escape, Damon turned on his stomach. His vision was fuzzy and his limbs felt lifeless and detached. All of his senses were dulled. He looked around for a means to escape and caught sight of the Mayor of Mystic Falls rousing to consciousness in front of him.

What the hell was he doing here? He wasn't a vampire, that was for sure, so why was he down in that hell hole with the rest of them? He noticed that blood was dripping from the Mayor's ears, which meant that he had somehow heard the tone that had made the vampires pass out. Which meant that he was something else other than a vampire, but what?

He didn't get a chance to find out though because the Mayor got himself killed when he fell into the lap of an angry vampire only minutes later. Literally.

The fire roared around him, and that was when it sunk in that Damon might actually die there. In a way he was relieved that he was going to die. He had been alive for so long, he had wondered many times what it would have been like to die. But he was also sad. Sad that he wouldn't be able to see tomorrow, or that he wouldn't be able to tease Elena or Stephen again, but most of all, he was sad that he wouldn't be able to see Dani again.

He couldn't say that he loved her, but he would have like the chance to try it out with her. He would have liked the chance…

Suddenly, he heard his name being called out. He looked up to see Stephen making his way toward him. He couldn't believe it, he almost laughed. Good old Stephen to the rescue!

Stephen helped him up and they speeded their way out of the flaming basement and into the cool night air. Elena rushed over to his side. He saw Bonnie standing to the side, looking at them quietly. He would deal with her later.

After a few minutes, Damon batted away Stephen and Elena's worries as he regained his strength. He stood up and stretched.

"I'm fine you two." He turned to Stephen, looking him the eyes. "Thanks."

Stephen nodded.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

Damon turned to Elena and flashed her his trademark smirk. "Yeah, I'm fine. Now, I need to go and take care of something's, so I'll catch up with you later. See ya." He was gone before either could say anything to stop him.

As Damon raced off, he thought about what he was going to do next. Like he had said to Elena and Stephen, he had some things to take care of first, and then…he would go find Dani.


	8. Founder's Day: Part Two

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Chapter 8- Founder's Day: Part 2**

Dani walked through the front doors of the boarding house. It was dark inside the large house, and assuming that Mr. Zena had already gone to bed, Dani closed the door behind her without turning on the lights.

She let her eyes adjust to the lack of light before moving towards the kitchen for something to drink before bed. She noticed that there was a light on in the sitting room, but quickly dismissed it. She figured that it was the fire in the fire place.

She quietly made her way to the kitchen, and moved to the stove too turn on the little light above the burners. She turned around and saw a dark figure sitting at the kitchen table.

She jumped and gave a little cry of fright before she recognized Mr. Zena. She sighed with relief and put a hand to her chest to steady her racing heart.

"Oh, Mr. Zena! You scared me. I thought you were in bed already."

Mr. Zena smiled and lifted a glass half full of water. "It was hot in my room, so I came down for a drink of water to cool me down. How were the Founder's Day celebrations?"

Opening the fridge and reaching for the pitcher of milk, Dani answered, "It was actually a lot of fun. I marched in the parade, the concert was awesome and I think everyone else had a really good time too." She opened a cupboard and got a glass. "I'm sorry that you couldn't come though. I just can't believe that your client wouldn't let you have a day off to relax!

Mr. Zena shrugged. "It's ok. I've been living in Mystic Falls for a while, so I've seen it."

Pouring the milk into her glass, Dani nodded in understanding. She put the pitcher away and sat opposite Mr. Zena at the table. They sat there in silence, sipping on their drinks until a loud ringing interrupted the silence.

Mr. Zena pulled out a cell phone from under the table. He opened it and said, "Hello?"

Dani continued to sip on her glass of milk until she was done. She got up from her seat and put the empty glass in the sink. She turned as Mr. Zena was snapping his cell shut.

"Who was that? I mean, not that you have to tell me, but it's pretty late to be calling. It wasn't the client that wanted you to work today was it?"

Mr. Zena didn't answer for a moment, finishing his glass of water. Setting the glass on the table top, he looked at her, his eyes hooded. "Actually, that was my employer."

Dani frowned. "Employer? But I thought that you owned your own firm?"

Mr. Zena traced the rim of the glass with his finger. "Yes, I do. But I have another job that I recently acquired."

"Really? What?"

"Spy."

Dani looked at him, her face saying, '_Are you serious?' _"You're a… spy? Who are you spying on? Or is it a secret?"

"It's not a secret. Not anymore. You see Ms. Court, I was sent to live here to spy on Mr. Damon Salvatore."

"Why Damon?"

"My employer wanted to keep an eye on Mr. Salvatore. They wanted to make sure that he still knew what he was and where his loyalties lied. Unfortunately, my employer hasn't been happy with what I've been reporting to them so far."

He got up and put his glass in the sink. Dani took an unconscious step back because she suddenly noticed the dark feeling she was getting from Mr. Zena.

"You see," he continued, "that was my employer on the phone, like I said before. And she wanted me to do a little something for her."

"What would that be?"

Reaching for the knife rack and taking out a large knife, he turned to her. "Kill you."

Dani opened her mouth, but she didn't get a chance to say anything because Mr. Zena suddenly lunged at her, the knife above his head.

Dani jumped to the side, barely dodging Zena's attack. She ran out of the kitchen, terrified as she heard Zena follow her. She saw that the fire was lit in the study, and acting on instinct, she dashed into the room. Dani rushed over to the fire place and grabbed at the iron poker resting against the wall. She whirled around as Zena came into the room.

"Ms. Court, I would advise you to stop this nonsense. I promise that I will make it as painless as possible. But if you continue to fight, I will make you suffer, I promise you."

Feeling tears of fear prick behind her eyes, Dani held the poker in front of her. "Stay away from me."

He laughed and Dani shivered at the sound of it. He grinned maniacally at her from across the room. "You've got to be kidding me. This house is practically in the middle of the woods. No one will hear you, no one will come to help you, and if they do, they'll come too late."

He suddenly screamed and rushed at her. Without thinking, Dani jumped to the side again and brought the poker down. Zena blocked it with his arm and grunted as it made contact. He thrust his knife wielding hand towards her. Dani twisted around, but not fast enough because she felt the knife slice into her leg. Hissing in pain and fear, she swung the poker again and aimed for the back of Zena's knees.

She hit him and he went down onto the carpet. She swung again and hit him in the back. He swung out his leg, kicking her in the shin. Crying out in surprise and pain, Dani fell down on her back. Zena jumped on top of her. Dani tried to get away, but Zena was surprisingly strong. His hands found their way around her neck, squeezing. Legs flailing, Dani scratched at Zena's arms, trying to get him to let go, failing.

Feeling her head start to spin, Dani panicked. Turning her head, she saw the poker lying nearby from the corner of her eye. She reached out and grabbed it. Using all of her strength, she brought it up and hit Zena in the head. His hands fell from her neck as he fell on his side. Gasping for breath, Dani rolled on her side. Unsteadily, she got up and looked at Mr. Zena, who was moaning on the ground.

Grasping the iron rod in her hand for support, Dani stood up. She grasped the handle of the knife that was still sticking out of her leg. Crying out, she pulled the knife out of her leg. She threw it to the side. Mr. Zena looked up at her, blood dripping from the cut on his forehead. He glared at her, hate shining in his eyes.

"I will kill you. I'm gonna rip out your throat and gut you like a-"

He never did get to finish his insane ramble, 'cause Dani brought down the poker on his head again, this time though, the hook lodged itself in his head, killing him.

Dani stood there for a moment, her eyes as blank and lifeless as Mr. Zena's. She stumbled back as what she did fully hit her in the gut. She killed a man…She killed a man…She killed a man…She killed…killed…kill…

The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the pool of blood that was steadily growing under Mr. Zena's head.

* * *

Damon paced. He had just left Elena's house, and his mind was reeling. Elena had kissed him! She kissed him! What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was she going to leave Stephen? Was he going to let her? No matter how he acted towards Stephen, he was still his brother. He couldn't take Elena from him. No, that cannot happen.

And what about Dani? He liked Dani. He really liked Dani. He could see himself with Dani, for a while actually. What if Elena wanted to get together? Would he just give up on her? Hey Dani, I know that you're in love with me and everything, but I'm gonna give it a try with Elena first, ok?

He snorted. Yeah, that would go over well. Even though Dani seemed like a nice person, he got the feeling that if anyone crossed her the wrong way, there would be hell to pay. He didn't want to hurt her, but how was he going to go about this new development with Elena?

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID. It was Stephen. He hit the answer button.

"What is it?"

"Damon, Jon's been killed."

Damon's eyes widened slightly. "Really? Damn, someone beat me to it."

"This isn't a joke Damon. Elena found his decapitated body in her kitchen. His fingers had been cut off and he'd been stabbed in the gut."

"Christ."

"That's not all. After Elena found Jon, she went upstairs to make sure that everyone else was ok. Jenna was fine, but they found Jeremy in his room, unconscious on the bed with an empty bottle of Elena's old medication on his bathroom counter. We're at the hospital right now."

"I'll be there in a minute."

Damon walked through the sliding doors of the emergency ward. He spotted Stephen standing outside the waiting area. He walked towards him, Stephen meeting him half way.

"So how do you think that it happened?"

Stephen shrugged. "I don't know. But Jenna told me that you were over the house earlier. What were you doing there Damon?"

"I was talking to the punk brother. I told him that Anna was dead."

Pressing his lips together, Stephen pulled out a small vial from his pocket. "That explains why I found this."

Damon took the vial, inspecting it. The inside was coated with a thick red liquid that looked very familiar. "Is this what I think it is?"

Stephen nodded. "It's blood, and not just any blood. It's vampire. I'm assuming that Jeremy took it right before he overdosed."

Damon cursed. From over Stephen's shoulder, Damon saw Elena approach them. She walked over and took Stephen's hand. Damon looked into her bloodshot eyes. She looked up at him with sadness and questions pooling inside her brown depths. Eyes the same color as Dani's…

"Jenna said that you were over at the house. Did you see what happened? Did you kill Jon?"

Damon looked at Elena with disbelief. His brow furrowed as he frowned. "Yeah I was at the house, but… You saw me there."

Now it was Elena who looked confused. "Damon, I never saw you at the house."

"But…But we…"

Stephen narrowed his eyes. "But you what Damon?"

Damon glanced at his brother before looking back at Elena. "Don't you remember?"

Elena shook her head, totally confused now.

"We…We…" He leaned in close to whisper, "We kissed."

Elena's mouth opened in shock. "What?"

"WHAT?"

Stephen had a look of pure outrage and anger on his face. He made as if he was about to grab Damon, but Elena stopped him, putting her body in front of him.

She glared at Damon. "Damon, this isn't a joke! My brother is in the ER, my father is dead, and you're making up stuff about me kissing you! What is wrong with you?"

To say that Damon was drawing a blank was an understatement. He racked his brain for an answer.

"But, if you didn't kiss me, then who…"

Suddenly it made sense. Jon's death, Elena's sudden change of heart towards him, gods, why didn't he see it before? The moment that 'Elena' kissed him back should have tipped him off.

"Katherine."

Damon looked at Stephen. "It had to be Katherine. She had to be the one that killed Jon, and she was the one that kissed me."

"But," Elena said, "How did she get into the house?"

Damon thought for a minute before remembering. "Your aunt interrupted us, and she said that 'you' had better get inside. Jenna invited her in."

It was Stephen's turn to curse. He drew Elena into his side protectively. "That means that Katherine can get in and out of the house whenever she pleases."

Damon nodded. "But with Jon being murdered, the police will want to search the house for evidence, which means that Elena and her family will have to live somewhere else for a bit. That will give us some time at least."

Damon stood there, arms crossed across his chest as he thought. "Katherine went after Jon, but why? He's a threat to us, but he was just doing what Katherine told him to do right? She wanted all those vampires dead."

"Maybe, but maybe she didn't want _us_ in the crossfire. That would explain why she killed Jon, because he went against her orders. You know how Katherine is. If her plan doesn't go exactly as she wants, she gets mad and people die."

"So she killed Jon because he was a threat to her, because he threatened us," Damon mused. "So who else would constitute as a threat to us?"

The trio thought in silence for a minute before Elena piped up with, "Wouldn't Katherine find me a threat because I look like her? Plus the fact that I'm in a relationship with Stephen and I'm your friend."

"Then that would mean that everyone that we care about would be…"

Damon stood there; stalk still as something dawned on him. "She didn't want Jon to kill us because she still wanted us, she kissed me pretending to be Elena so that I would feel for her, which means that she'll go after anyone who can take us away from her."

Somewhat confused, Stephen studied Damon. "Ok, but she didn't even try to hurt Elena. She wasn't even at the house."

Damon shook his head. "Then she was busy with something else… She was busy with someone else…"

Suddenly, Damon's head snapped up, his eyes wide. "Oh crap, Dani!"

Before either Stephen or Elena, Damon ran out of the building and raced to the boarding house. He was almost when he was stopped by a horrifying smell. It was the smell of blood, and it was coming from the direction of the boarding house.

"No…"

He ran as if his life depended on it, bursting through the front door and into the living room. He stared at the scene in front of him. Mr. Zena, with an iron poker sticking out of his head, lay in front of him, blood pooling around his head. It wasn't his body that Damon was concerned about. It was Dani's, which was lying pretty still on the other side of the room.

He jumped across Mr. Zena's lifeless body and knelt beside Dani, pulling her limp body into his arms. It took a second for him to realize that her heart was still beating, making him sigh in relief. It was faint, but at least it was there.

He inspected the wounds in her thigh. She had lost a lot of blood, and he assumed that she had been lying there for close to half an hour. He looked into her pale face, putting a hand to her cheek tenderly.

"You're not going to like what comes next," he whispered. He brought his wrist up and opened his mouth. He bit into the skin, feeling his blood burst on his tongue. He held his wrist up to her mouth, letting his blood drip onto her lips. Some of it slipped into her mouth, and after a few minutes that felt more like hours, Dani's eyelids fluttered open.


	9. Recovery

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Author's Notes**: Sorry for the pause everyone, I was suffering from some serious writers block. Thanks for the reviews! I read one that said that Damon wasn't quite as sarcastic as he should be, so I will definitely work on that. If he doesn't get at least 10% more sarcastic, than I guess sarcasm isn't really my thing and I apologize. Enjoy the chapter though, and I hope that everyone likes it!

**Chapter 9- Recovery**

The first thing that Dani saw was the dwindling fire place. Her vision was a bit blurry, so she blinked a few times to focus her sight. She felt sore all over her body and it took a moment to remember why she was feeling that way.

Gasping in fright she bolted up only to be stopped by a pair of arms that held her in place. Panicked, she started thrashing and hitting against whoever was holding her down. "Let go of me! No! Let go you-"

"Dani, Dani stop! Dani, it's me! It's Damon!"

Panting, Dani looked up into Damon's bright blue eyes. Suddenly, she started to cry great heaving sobs as she grabbed onto him. "Damon…Oh God…He tried to…I killed…Damon!"

Damon held Dani close as she cried. He rocked her back and forth, glancing over at the dead body of Mr. Zena. He would get the story from her later, but before that…

Damon tipped Dani's tear stained face up to his, looking in her eyes. "Dani, I know that you've been through a lot, but I need you do something for me." He raised his slashed wrist up to her face. "Dani, I need you to drink my blood."

Confused and a little disgusted, Dani shook her head. "What are you saying Damon? I…you…I can't! Why would you…"

"Dani, I know that this is confusing, but I need you to drink the blood. You've lost too much already. You won't make it to the hospital. Please Dani, drink the blood."

Dani pushed his arm away. "Damon, no…"

Growing impatient, Damon caught Dani's face between his hands. Staring into her eyes, Damon said, "Dani, do you trust me?"

Silent, Dani stared into Damon's eyes for a moment. She saw a mixture of things that she couldn't name, but she knew that without a doubt that he wasn't trying to hurt her. So, she nodded.

"Good. Now drink."

Dani looked at the gaping wound on Damon's wrist. She hesitated for a second before putting her mouth around the wound. She almost gagged as the coppery taste of blood entered her mouth. She swallowed a few mouthfuls before the taste got better. Her head started to buzz and her body seemed to hum as she continued to drink. After a few minutes, Damon gently pulled his arm away from Dani, both of them panting slightly from the exchange.

Wiping her mouth with a shaking hand, Dani glanced at Damon. He leaned back against the wall, looking at her. "Feeling better?"

Surprised, Dani felt that she did feel better. "Yeah. What did you do to me?"

Damon sighed. "It's a long story."

* * *

"You're a vampire?"

Damon nodded as he took another sip of his beer. Dani was sitting against the wall beside him, her untouched bottle in front of her. "But you can walk in sunlight."

Damon held up his hand and waggled the finger sporting a ring with a lapis lazuli gem on it.

Dani looked between him and the ring, her face blank. "That's a nice ring and everything Damon, but sunlight? Can we get back to that?"

Sighing, Damon explained, "This ring allows me to walk in sunlight. A witch cast a spell on it a long time ago, and the spell protects me when I'm out in sunlight."

"That way, people have a harder time believing that you're a vampire, right?"

Damon nodded. "That's right. And it sooo much fun keeping people guessing." He said, flashing her a wicked smile.

Dani chuckled. After Damon had given her some of his blood, he made her sit against the wall while he went about cleaning up. That is, cleaning up Mr. Zena. He had picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder, as if he didn't weigh a thing to Damon. Where he put the body, Dani didn't know, and she didn't want to know.

After coming back to the sitting room, Damon rolled up the rug that had been stained by Zena's blood and moved that out of the room as well. While he cleaned, he told Dani about what and who he was. Dani had listened quietly, unable to interrupt since it seemed like she had trouble talking. Damon was a vampire! A vampire! It was so outlandish, and unbelievable, and…fantastic!

She never thought that she'd meet anyone like Damon. She always thought that the world was made up of more than science, or religion, or manmade objects, and now she was sitting in a room with an actual vampire!

She sat there in stunned silence while Damon mopped the floor and brought her a beer. He had discarded his shirt a while ago, being that it had soaked up some blood from Mr. Zena. Dani didn't notice howeve,r since her mind was too rattled by Mr. Zena's attack and Damon's coming out of the coffin.

"Ok, so how old are you?" Dani asked, continuing the questioning.

"Why do you need to know? Do you go for older men Dani?" He waggled his eyebrows playfully.

Dani blushed, and slapped him on the chest lightly. This was around the same time that she noticed that Damon was shirtless, which made her blush harder. Damon grinned, and caught her hand before she had a chance to pull away. He placed it right above his non-beating heart, leaning close to whisper in Dani's ear.

"What's wrong Dani? I can hear your heart pounding in your chest, which is making all that blood rush up into your pretty face."

Damon caught Dani's brown eyes with his blue ones and held them. Dani couldn't seem to look away from him. She had a vision of herself as a mouse who was being hypnotized by a dangerous snake, lulled into a false sense of security before the snake ate her. If it were possible, she blushed harder at the thought of Damon 'eating' her, sucking blood or otherwise.

Damon crowded her with his body as he stretched over her, his lips skimming her skin from her ear to her cheek. Dani shivered as she became aware of Damon's mouth getting closer to her own.

Her breath came short in her chest. "Damon…"

"Shh. For once Dani, just shut up."

His head came closer to hers, his lips hovering above hers. She felt the brush of his soft lips touch her when the door banged open. Dani jumped and rammed her face into Damon's in the process. Her forehead banged against his and her mouth crashed into his, her lower lip coming up to meet his teeth. She cried out in surprise and pain as her lip was cut open.

"Damon! Dani?" Stephen's voice called out from the front of the house.

Damon cursed, and for a moment it looked like his eyes went red around the edges, but it quickly disappeared. He smirked down at Dani. "Just like a little brother huh? Interrupting big bro while he's getting lucky. I'm going to have to noogie him for this, and I'll have to throw in an Indian Burn while I'm at it." He noticed the blood on Dani's lip. He lifted his hand and wiped it away from her lip with his thumb.

Dani watched as he raised his hand to his face, and locking his eyes on hers, sucked his thumb into his mouth. He moaned lightly as he sucked Dani's blood off of his finger. He saw Dani watching him and grinned as he removed his thumb from his mouth.

He leaned in close once more and kissed her lightly on the lips. He pulled back a bit to whisper, "We'll continue this later," and stood up. He pulled Dani up with him and turned towards the sitting room entrance to welcome his brother.

Stephen walked in a second later and took in the scene in front of him. Shirtless Damon: check. Dishelved, blushing, innocent girl Damon was taking advantage of: check.

"Will you please put a shirt on?"

"Why? Jealous of my far superior appearance Stephen?" Smirking, he continued, "You shouldn't be you know. Girls love the whole 'I'm sensitive' bit. Sure, I'm more fun, and good looking, and older, and better in every way, but when it comes to sensitivity Stephen, you have it nailed."

Stephen tapped his foot against the floor. "Are you done?"

"No I have one more, just a minute." Damon cleared his throat. "The neighbors called, and they were wondering where their dog, Mr. Jiggles had gone. Since I don't eat mongrel, I thought I'd ask you."

Stephen sighed, deciding to ignore Damon as he looked at Dani. "Are you alright?"

Dani nodded. "Yes, thank you. I was in a bit of trouble earlier, but I'm all right now."

"Mind telling me about it while Mr. Abercrombie and Fitch finds something to wear?"

"So you admit that I have a hot bod, huh?"

"Shut up Damon."

* * *

Dani told them what had happened after Damon got fully dressed. She recounted how she came in the house, went to the kitchen and found Mr. Zena there. She told them how he had received a call from his 'employer' right before he attacked her. She didn't remember much after that, which she figured was because of the adrenaline rush and fear.

Stephen asked her if she remembered anything significant that Mr. Zena had said before he attacked her.

"Well, before he took the phone call, we weren't talking about much, just that he was working during a town holiday. Then he got the call, and when he hung up, I asked who it was, cause it was after twelve and I was wondering who would be calling so late. He said that it was his employer, which was odd to me cause I knew that he owned his own law firm, you know? Anyway, he said that it was his employer for his other job. I asked what he did at this 'other job'. He said that he was a spy."

Stephen glanced at Damon. "Did he say what, or who he was spying on?"

Dani nodded. "Yeah. He said that he had been sent to spy on Damon."

"Did he say why?"

"He did, but…Jeez, what did he say?" Dani thought for a moment before she remembered. "Oh yeah, he said that his employer wanted to keep an eye on him and… to make sure that Damon knew where his loyalties lied. He also said that his employer wasn't too happy with what he had been reporting."

"Did he say anything about spying on me or Elena maybe?" Stephen asked.

Dani thought, but shook her head. "No, he just said that he was sent to spy on Damon. He didn't say anything about anyone else."

"Hmm," Stephen mused. "Ok, and what happened after that?"

"Well, he got up from the table and walked to the counter. He was talking about how his employer wanted something done, and then picked up and knife, and said that she wanted him to kill me."

Stephen's head snapped up. "She? Dani, did he say that his employer was female?"

Dani nodded. "Yes. He didn't say much after that because he attacked me, and I kil…I ki…He died."

Damon noticed that Dani's hands were shaking, so he took her hands in his and squeezed them reassuringly. Dani smiled at him gratefully.

Stephen got up and paced the length of the sitting room a few times, processing the information that he had learned from Dani. There was no doubt that Katherine was the one who had sent Mr. Zena as a spy, but why would she only be interested in Damon? Why not both of them, like last time? Then again, she had been alive and free for the whole period of time that they had been alive. She had known where they were, and could have contacted either at any point.

He looked over at the couch, where Dani and Damon were sitting. Damon was holding Dani's hands in his and was whispering words of reassurance to her, telling her that everything was alright and that he wouldn't let anything hurt her. Dani was looking up at him with a look that he had seen on Elena's face many times before. It was a mixture of trust, faith and… love. Dani loved his brother, and from the way that Damon was looking at her, he wasn't too far off himself.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. Why Katherine had killed Jon, why she had sent someone to spy on Damon, why she had ordered Dani's murder.

"Damon."

Damon looked away from Dani to his brother.

"Damon, come with me to the hall for a minute. We need to discuss something."

Damon followed Stephen out of the sitting room, telling Dani to stay put and that he'd be back in a bit.

When he was sure that they were far enough away from the sitting room, Stephen turned to Damon and said in a low voice, "I know what Katherine's after."

"What?"

"You."

Damon blinked at him. "Well, isn't everyone?"

"Dammit Damon, this isn't a joke. It explains everything! Look, she killed Jon because he was a threat to you and he tried to kill you. She sent a human spy to keep tags on _you_, to see if you had changed from when she last knew you. He tried to have Dani murdered because she probably knew that you cared for her."

Damon frowned. "You can tell that?"

Stephen looked at his brother for a second, bewildered. Damon's frown deepened. "What the hell do you look so surprised for?"

"You didn't deny it."

"What?"

"You didn't deny that you cared for Dani. Usually you'd give me some sort of snarky remark or sarcastic comment. Never would you actually admit it." He suddenly grinned. "I can't believe that I lived to see the day that Damon Salvatore would genuinely care for someone other than himself."

Damon grimaced. "Please tell me that we're not about to have a 7th Heaven moment, cause if we are, I will give you such a noogie that your hair will actually burn off."

Stephen just grinned at him. Damon slapped him lightly across the face, trying to dislodge the idiotic grin.

"Damon has a girlfriend, Damon has a girlfriend…"

Snorting, Damon turned away from Stephen, hiding the smile that graced his handsome face as he made his way back to the sitting room and back to Dani.


	10. Trouble

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Chapter 10: Best Laid Plans**

Dani had nodded off on the couch while Damon and Stephen had stepped outside to talk. Seeing her asleep, Damon's smile went soft. 'She must have been so worn out,' he thought. 'She had been tired when she left for home and with what happened afterward, I'm surprised that she lasted this long.'

He made his way to her side and slipped his arms around her shoulders and under her knees. Lifting her into his arms, he carefully made his way to the staircase with Stephen grinning like an idiot behind him.

Narrowly missing Stephen's legs with a swipe of his foot, Damon climbed the stairs to the second floor. He made his way to Dani's room, pushing the door open with his foot. He quickly laid Dani down on her bed, bending down to remove her shoes.

Pulling the sheets around her, Damon turned to leave when he felt a hand on his wrist. He looked over his shoulder to see a sleepy eyed Dani looking up at him.

"Damon… Stay…"

Surprised at the request, Damon debated with himself on whether or no he should stay. The look she gave him though sealed the deal. It was like she was five and she wanted her mother after having a bad dream, only her mother wasn't there, and she had to settle for him. So, unable to say no, Damon slipped his shoes off and crawled onto the other side of the bed, above the sheets.

Dani turned to him and put a hand on his shirt, fisting the fabric lightly in her hand. Damon put his hand over hers, rubbing the back lightly with his thumb. The woman beside him sighed contently, closing her eyes and whispering a quiet, "Thank you." She fell asleep a few minutes later.

Damon watched Dani sleep for a bit before his eyes started to droop. The steady beat of Dani's heart lulled him into a deep sense of peacefulness that he hadn't experienced in a very long time, maybe ever. He tucked Dani's head under his chin and drifted off into a deep slumber.

* * *

Dani sighed as she stepped through the front entrance of Mystic Falls' only apartment building, the Mystic Manor. She had learned from Damon that Jenna and her family had recently taken residence on the second floor since the police had their house under investigation. After a light breakfast, Dani had decided to visit them, wanting to see of everyone was all right.

She told the desk clerk that she was there to visit Jenna, and was told to take the stairs to the second floor, since the elevator was broken. Dani thanked her and made for the stairwell. She climbed the two flights and entered the second floor hall. From when she had called Jenna just 20 minutes prior, she knew that she was at the end of the hall in apartment 5B.

She walked down the hall, her footsteps silent on the dirty gray carpet. She knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, she was greeted by a worn looking Jenna. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her hair was in disarray.

"Hey Jenna, how are you feeling?" Dani asked as she stepped inside.

Jenna gave a have laugh, half sob as a response. "Jeez, I can't even begin to answer that question Dani. My whole body hasn't stopped humming with worry and fear since last night. Worry over Jeremy and Elena, and fear over what happened to Jon. I just can't seem to think straight."

Dani patted her back comfortingly. She took Jenna by the arm, and led her to the stained canary yellow couch that sprawled under a window. She sat Jenna down on it, and reached over to the dark blue side table to grab the Kleenex box. She handed the box to Jenna, watching as Jenna blew her nose.

"I'm gonna see if I can anything from the kitchen for you ok?" Dani moved to the tiny kitchenette, opening the cupboards, looking for something that might give Jenna some calm. She found an old tin behind a box of Captain Crunch. Opening it, she found a few tea bags inside. She put the tin on top of the counter, and rummaged around some more, until she found a kettle.

Smiling, she filled the kettle with water and turned on the stove. She glanced over her shoulder at Jenna, who was still sniffling on the couch. 'Poor Jenna', she thought. 'She must have been exhausted'. Leaving the kettle on the stove, she moved over to Jenna. Pulling a ratty looking comforter from the back of the couch, she wrapped Jenna in and pushed her gently onto her back, so that she was reclined comfortably.

Hearing the whistle of the kettle, telling her that the water was heated enough, she went back to the stove and turned it off. Grabbing a mug from a cupboard, she poured the hot water into it. She then grabbed a tea bag from the tin and dipped into the steaming liquid until the steam carried the aroma of Earl Grey.

Careful not to spill any of the tea, Dani carried it over to Jenna. She urged Jenna to take a few sips from the mug. After a few minutes, her body tired and heated with tea, Jenna sighed quietly as she slipped off to dream land. Smiling, Dani watched as Jenna dozed on the couch. She knew that Jenna probably hadn't gotten any sleep considering that her brother in-law had just been murdered in her house, and her nephew had tried to commit suicide in the same night.

Getting up, Dani drew the curtains over the window so that room became darker. She put the mug on the counter, and turned off all the lights, leaving Jenna to sleep. Before Jenna had fallen asleep, she had said that Elena was at the hospital, looking after Jeremy. Dani decided to go there next, to see how the Gilbert siblings were doing. She took the spare key to the apartment and locked the door behind her, hoping that Jenna would get some rest. Gods knew that she would need it.

* * *

Dani wrinkled her nose as she stepped through the automatic doors of the Mystic Falls Memorial Hospital. It smelled of sanitizer and disinfectant, which she supposed was to cover the scent of the sick people that were in the building. She didn't know why, but she had never liked hospitals. Doctor's office's she had no problem with, but she just didn't sit right whenever she was in a hospital.

She asked the nurse at the reception desk what room Jeremy Gilbert was in. The nurse directed her to the end of the hall, and then said that she should take a right. Jeremy would be in room 121. Dani thanked her, and made her way down the hall.

Quietly walking into the room, she found Jeremy asleep, an IV running into his arm and breathing tubes connected to his nose. Elena was slumped in a rather uncomfortable looking chair, her hair hiding her face as her chin touched her chest.

Dani went over to her and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. Elena started awake, looking up at Dani with bleary eyes. "Dani? What are you doing here?"

Dani smiled, squeezing her shoulder. "I'm here to give you a break. Your aunt told me that you were here, and seeing how tired you are, I can tell that you've been here for a while. Why don't you go, get something to eat, get some sleep, and I'll stay here with Jeremy for a bit?"

Elena started to argue, but Dani shushed her quickly. "Elena, you're tired. Now, I just left your Aunt Jenna asleep on that hideous couch in your apartment, and I want you to go out and get some fresh air." She dug her hand into her pocket and took out the spare key for the apartment, handing it to Elena. "Get some stuff together and go take a nap. When you feel refreshed, come back and stay as long as you want, but you need to get out of this hospital, at least for a little while."

Seeing that Dani was not going to bend on this, Elena nodded in defeat. She got up from the chair, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Before leaving, she gave Dani her cell phone number, just in case Jeremy woke up while she was gone. Dani promised that she would call Elena if Jeremy were to wake up while she was gone.

Dani watched as Elena left the room, then sat down. She was glad that she had this time to think. She had been too drained last night to really do any thinking, but today was a different story. Now she had all the time in the world to think over the last couple of days.

First, she had to think about the fact that Damon and Stephen were vampires. Damon had told her that Elena knew about what they were, and so did Elena's brother, and Elena's friend Bonnie.

When Dani had heard that Jeremy had tried to commit suicide, Damon had said Jeremy had done it to become a vampire. He explained briefly that if a living person dies with vampire blood in their system, that person would come back to life as a vampire. That meant that if Dani were to drop dead that very instant, the next time she woke up, she would be a vampire since she had taken Damon's blood.

When she asked Damon about it, he assured her that within a week or two, she would have nothing to worry about. His blood would fade from her system and she wouldn't have to worry about a thing, but because she had lost some blood and had taken his to replenish it, it would take longer for his blood to disappear from her system. Her body would need to replace her own blood before his would be forced out. Until then, she would have to be very careful not to get into trouble.

Looking at the young man laying on the bed, she wondered what could have driven him to do such a foolish thing. Damon had said that Jeremy's girlfriend, a vampire named Anna, had been killed by Jeremy's uncle. Putting that together with what Jenna had told her when they had first met, she knew that Jeremy's life for the past year hadn't been the easiest. That still didn't give him the right to try to take his own life. No matter how bad life got, she believed that it never got _that_ bad.

As she stewed in her thoughts, in the bed, Jeremy stirred. He opened his eyes slowly, roving over the grey room until his eyes landed on Dani. Confused, Jeremy sat up slowly, his head fuzzy. "Ms. Court, what are you doing here?"

Shaken out of her thoughts by Jeremy's voice, Dani turned her head to look at the poor teenager in front of her. He looked a little worse for wear, with pale skin and dull eyes.

Not waiting for Dani to answer him, Jeremy went on, "Where am I? What happened after I-"

"After you tried to kill yourself?"

Jeremy looked up at Dani with surprise. Tried?

"Elena found you just in time. You were rushed to the hospital and had your stomach pumped of the drugs. Any longer, and you would have died Jeremy."

Jeremy looked down. His hands clenched the bed sheets on either side of his legs. He was furious. Denied what he wanted once again by the person who refused to leave him alone. Why did Elena always have to butt into his business? Why? Why? WHY!

"You know, your sister and aunt are really worried about you Jeremy."

He snorted. "Yeah, they're really worried. Maybe they should worry less and get their own lives for once."

"Maybe you should give them a reason."

"Give them a reason? Look lady, I don't know where you get off telling me about this! You don't know anything! All they've ever done is make my life worse! They don't understand that I can take care of myself! None of you do! So just shut up and get out!"

Dani sighed and stood up. Her eyes were hard as she looked at Jeremy. "Your right, I don't really have any right talking to you about things that I don't really understand. But I'll tell you what I do know. I know that you were a smart kid Jeremy. I know that you used to have friends, and you used to do well in school. I know that after your parents died, you went down a slippery slope of drugs and substance abuse. I also know that your aunt and sister love you, and you can't see how much you're hurting them."

She took a breath before continuing, "I know that you're a selfish little prick that doesn't care about anyone but himself! I just came back from helping your Aunt Jenna, who by the way looked like warmed shit run over by a semi truck. She just had to endure the death of her brother-in-law and the near death of her nephew, and you're bitching about how they should just butt out of your life and get their own! You want them to stay out of your life and not treat you like a child Jeremy? Then give them a reason to! So far your rap sheet hasn't been the greatest, considering that you fell into drugs and alcohol when your parents died, then your girlfriend dies and you decide to commit suicide! I'm surprised that they haven't gotten a leash for you. You should be thankful that you have such loving family member willing to do anything for you Jeremy, but you spit on them and give them your contempt when you should give them your thanks."

Huffing, Dani paused while Jeremy sat on the bed in stunned silence.

"Sorry, but I'm under a lot of stress right now and I apologize for taking some of it out on you. I just need to go for a bit to cool off, and then I'll be back. That way, both of us can be civil when I come back here, ok? Ok." Dani grabbed her purse up from the floor. "I'll be back in a bit." She walked out of the room, not letting Jeremy get a word in.

She walked down the quiet hospital corridor and went for the exit. When she stepped outside, she took a deep breath of fresh air, trying desperately to calm down. She really hadn't meant to go off on Jeremy, but after learning that vampires existed, falling in love with one, and having a mad man try to kill you all in the same night; it took out a cost on your sanity.

The sound of footsteps coming her way had Dani turning to see who it was. Her eyes widened when she saw Elena walking up to her. "Elena? I thought I told you to get some rest. I can look after Jeremy for a few hours, really."

Elena smiled at her. "Oh, I'm not here for Jeremy. I'm here for you Ms. Court."

Confused, Dani opened her mouth when a hand tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and nearly fainted, but her body was so frozen with fear, she would be think later on that she had been lucky that she had still been able to think straight.

David Zenna stood before her, a smile on his unnaturally pale lips.

"But…How…You…"

"It's very nice to see you too Dani, but I'm afraid we're going to have resume this conversation elsewhere. Goodnight Ms. Court."

Then everything went black.


	11. Confrontations

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Author's Notes**: Someone commented that I had spelled Stefan's name 'Stephen.' I would like to say that I did realize that I had spelled his name differently, and it was only after I went back to the books that I realized that the spelling was different. Sorry about that. I'm going to keep spelling it 'Stephen' seeing as it's a bit too late to change it. Hope it doesn't bother anyone too much!

**Chapter 11: Confrontations**

Damon and Stephen sat in the sitting room, discussing the next steps that they would take to deal with Katherine when there was a knock at the door. Stephen stood up to open the door. Surprised to see Elena standing there, he said, "Elena, I thought you were still at the hospital."

Not waiting for Stephen to invite her in, Elena walked through the door. "Dani came and told me to get some rest. I came here because Aunt Jenna is asleep at the apartment and I didn't want to disturb her. Is it OK if I stay here for a few hours?"

Stephen nodded, noticing the dark circles under Elena's eyes and her slumped form. He led her to the staircase only to be intercepted by Damon.

"Now's not the time Damon. Elena needs some sleep."

"Yeah yeah, I know." Shifting his eyes to Elena's face, he asked, "You said that Dani came to the hospital?"

Elena nodded.

Damon grunted. He had slipped some vervain into her pocket that morning, but he was still worried for her safety. With Katherine out and about town, there was no telling what she'd do. Dani did promise to call every thirty minutes to say that she was safe. She had called him right after she left Jenna's and he was waiting for her second call, which should be in a few minutes.

Damon moved away from the staircase, letting Elena pass. As she started up, he said over his shoulder, "Remember Elena, Stephen's room is to the left. If you happen to find your way into my bed…well, I won't blame you for that." He smirked.

Stephen punched him lightly on the shoulder. "I'll be up in a while Elena. Just make yourself comfortable."

After Elena had gone up the stairs, Stephen turned to Damon. "Dani's supposed to call soon right?"

Damon nodded and they both went to sit down again, waiting for Dani's call. The call never came though. Damon got more anxious and impatient as the minutes ticked by. After forty-three minutes, Damon got and went to get the phone. Dialing Dani's cell phone number, he waited for her to pick up.

After what seemed like forever, she picked up. Not giving her the chance to say anything, Damon said, "What the hell have you been doing? You said that you'd call me every half hour, and here I am nearly an hour later, and you still haven't called! This isn't the time to be forgetting about your own safety Dani! Gods, we can't take any chanced now that Katherine is-"

"Now that I'm what Damon?"

If Damon's heart was still functioning, it would have stopped just then. An overbearing wave of fear gripped his body, turning his already cool blood into ice. He didn't notice Stephen turning to him, having heard Katherine voice on the phone instead of Dani's with his heightened hearing.

"What have you done with her?"

"Tsk tsk Damon. A hundred and forty-five years and I don't even get a 'Hey Katherine, how have you been all this time?' Very rude, but then again, you were never one to follow the rules of society. That's what I love about you Damon."

Damon growled deep in his throat. "What. Did. You. Do. With. Dani."

"She's safe. For now that is. My friend David Zenna is looking after her at the moment. You remember him right?"

Damon swore. He should have suspected that Zenna had vampire blood in his system when Dani killed him. He had just been too concerned with Dani to check.

"What do you want Katherine?"

"Just you."

"What do you want me to do then?"

"I want you to come to the old bridge. You're brother should be familiar with it, since it is where he saved that carbon copy of mine from drowning. I want you to come alone, at ten o'clock, and if you don't, then I'm going to rip off that woman's pretty little head off so that there's no chance to revive her. Understand?"

"Yes," Damon said grudgingly.

"Good. See you tonight then." There was the sound of a click and the line went dead.

Damon stood there for a moment, the phone clutched in his hand. Stephen walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "What do we do now?"

Damon turned to Stephen. Stephen gasped and took a step back. Damon's face had contorted into a snarl with his fangs extending over his lower lip and the veins in his face popping out hideously in fury. The worst of it was his eyes. They had turned pitch black in his anger, the white's non-existent.

"Damon…"

"First off, dear brother, 'we' are not doing anything. I'm handling this bitch myself. It's time that she learned that if you screw around with Damon Salvatore, you end up dead."

Smiling, Stephen felt his own fangs lengthen in excitement. "So what's next?"

Damon smirked.

* * *

Dani sat on the railing of the old Mystic Falls Bridge, the one that hung over Fell River. She glanced over her shoulder, looking at the dark rush of water below her. The bottom of the river had to be at least ten feet under, and with the heavy chains around her wrists and ankles, she wouldn't have a chance in hell if she dropped over. The gag in her mouth would also make it hard for her.

She looked over the woman Katherine. They had arrived an hour ago and Katherine had been standing at the opening of the bridge for the entire time they had been there, just staring out into the darkness. Zenna was nearer Dani, more in the middle of the bridge, waiting for Katherine to tell him to push Dani into the river. The little devil would be glad to do it too.

Ever since her capture, Zenna had been looking at her with a frightening look of hunger in his eyes. It was hunger for her death. Dani knew that Zenna would like nothing more than to rip off her head and drink her blood until her body ran dry, but thankfully, Katherine had a firm hand on his leash. He wouldn't do anything to Dani until Katherine said to.

Dani hoped that Damon wouldn't come for her. She knew that if he did, they both had a very good chance of dying that night. She felt tears run down her face as she thought about her impending death. No matter what Katherine had promised to Damon, she knew that Katherine would have her killed.

She saw Zenna suddenly perk up, his head swiveling in Katherine's direction. Dani turned her head to look out into the dark woods as well, a part of her hoping that Damon was indeed coming while another part of her screamed for him to stay away.

She sobbed through her gag as she watched Damon emerge from the shadows.

Damon walked along the side of the dirt road, his eyes, now the color of ice blue, stayed on Katherine as he slowly approached.

"Damon," Katherine smiled, "I'm so happy that you made it. I'm sure that your little friend over there is very happy to see you as well." She gestured behind her.

Damon glanced over Katherine's shoulder to see Dani sitting precariously on the edge of the railing over the river. He took note of the chains around her wrists and ankles, and the gag in her mouth. He also noticed the tear tracks that ran over her cheeks. Not trusting himself to look at her any longer, he focused on Katherine.

Gods, she looked exactly like Elena. There were differences between them however, he could see that now. Katherine's eyes were colder, her mouth thin with contempt and arrogance, her body rigid and still. Elena was so much more open and warmer than Katherine. He felt like a fool, not being able to spot the differences when it had counted.

Katherine smiled and held her arms open. "Don't I get a welcome Damon? After so long, I think I deserve a hug."

Damon stepped closer, his arms going around Katherine's waist. Katherine's arm went around his shoulder's, holding him tightly to her.

"It's good to feel you so close again Damon. It's been too long."

"That wasn't exactly my fault."

Katherine pulled back, pouting up at Damon. "I am sorry about that Damon, I really am. I just thought that you were dead this whole time. I was there when you were shot you know."

"Anna said that you've known about me since the 20's Katherine."

"Yes, well, I was actually with someone at the time, so I really couldn't drop everything and leave now could I? You understand Damon, don't you?"

Damon looked down at the vampiress, his face expressionless. "Yes, I understand."

Flashing him a brilliant smile, Katherine continued, "Good. Then you also understand why the woman must die."

Narrowing his eyes, Damon said, "You told me that you'd let her go Katherine."

"Well, I didn't exactly say that, but if she lived, I'd just worry all the time about whether you'd go back to her and leave me all alone. I can't let that happen Damon. You belong to me."

Dani watched the exchange between Katherine and Damon. She stiffened when Katherine said that she was planning to kill her anyway. Dani knew that it would come to that, but it was still a shock to hear someone say it out loud.

Damon stayed silent for a moment, before looking over at Dani. "May I say goodbye then?"

Katherine made a show of thinking about Damon's request. She shrugged and motioned him forward. "I can't see the harm in it. Just don't take too long darling, we have a lot of catching up to do."

Damon nodded and walked to where Dani was sitting. He glared at Zenna as he passed. When he was close enough, he reached up and slipped the gag from Dani's mouth.

"Damon…"

He silenced her with a finger to her lips. Depending on what happened next, either both of them were going to die or they were both going to live. Since he couldn't think of anything to say to her, he decided to do something that he had been longing to do for a while. He leaned down and touched his lips gently to hers.

Dani gave a little whimper as Damon's mouth fell on hers. 'It isn't fair,' she thought. 'I wanted more time with you. I wanted to be with you. I wanted to love you.' As Damon's lips moved over hers, Dani couldn't help but respond. Their kiss wasn't one of passion or lust, no. Damon kissed her with such love and tenderness that Dani could feel her heart breaking. His hands went up to her face, cupping her cheeks gently, his thumbs running over her jaw line as he continued to kiss her.

She kissed Damon back, trying to convey her feelings for him within what brief moments they would have. She didn't close her eyes, and as brown met blue, they both saw their feelings reflected in the eyes of the other.

Dani brought her shackled hands up to grasp the front of his shirt, her mouth turning more desperate. Damon wrapped his arms around her, clutching her to him, their bodies melding together. Dani started to sob once again. She clung to Damon desperately, not wanting to let him go, yet knowing that this would be the last time she would ever be together with him.

Finally, they separated, their pants fogging in the cool night air. Dani lifted her hand to lightly touch Damon's chin. Her lip quivered as she whispered to him, "I love you."

Damon took her smaller hand in his and lightly kissed her fingertips. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of clapping. He looked over at Katherine, his eyes shadowed.

"That was quite the show Damon, but it really is time to be going now. I'll have Zenna take care of the woman while we retire to somewhere more…hospitable."

Damon looked once more down at Dani. He gently kissed her forehead and stepped away from her. He looked over at Katherine. "I don't think so."

He watched as Katherine lost her smile. Her eyes grew dangerous and hard. "What?"

"I'm not going anywhere with you Katherine. You left me alone for a century and a half, and you expect me to just fall back into your arms like some five dollar whore? You actually expect me to forget everything and just take you back? Are you an idiot?"

The veins around Katherine's eyes bulged. "Careful what you say Damon. I might be persuaded to let you and the woman be together, if only in death."

"You know Katherine, you're so pathetic. I can't believe that I actually thought I was in love with you! Ha, what a joke. Now I see you for what you really are, and that's a dried up old tea bag that lost her flavor a very long time ago. It's time for a new flavor honey, so I don't think that it's going to work out between us."

Damon didn't see Katherine coming. Before he knew it, he was suspended up in the air with Katherine's hand around his neck.

"You are not one to deny me anything Damon Salvatore!" she snarled. "I made you into what you are! You owe me your very existence and you are mine for all eternity! You live when I say live and you die when I say die! There is no where you can hide from me. You are mine."

Damon smirked and made a gargling sound deep in his throat that sounded like laughter. Confused, Katherine raised a brow in question. Her grip tightened on Damon's throat, cutting off his laughter.

"What the hell is so funny?"

Damon looked down at Katherine and gave her his trademark smirk, or tried to give his smirk as best as he could at the moment.

"Katherine?"

Katherine tilted her head, waiting for Damon to continue.

"See you in hell."

Eyes narrowing, Katherine wondered what Damon was up to. While she was pondering, she didn't take notice of the movement in the bushes to her right. She also didn't hear the sound of the firing air gun until it was too late.

The stake drove into her side, causing her to scream in rage and pain. It also caused her to drop Damon, which gave him enough time to pull out the sharpened wooden pencil he had in the inside pocket of his jacket. He drove it home into Katherine's heart, taking pleasure in the look of surprise and betrayal on her face.

Katherine reached out to him, her face a mask of anger and hate, but Damon just pushed her down to the ground, watching as the woman he had once loved died in agony. He was so busy watching Katherine die, he forgot about Zenna. It wasn't until Alaric cried out in warning from his hiding place in the bushes that Damon turned and saw that he was too late.

* * *

Dani was sure that she was going to die as Damon pulled away from her. At least she had gotten to see Damon one last time; at least she had gotten to see Damon…

She closed her eyes, waiting for Zenna to kill her when Damon's words caught her attention. He was making the Katherine woman mad by calling her pathetic and an idiot. It took a few seconds for Dani to realize that he wasn't going to leave her to die.

Her heart leapt into her chest when Katherine grabbed Damon by the neck and raised him up above her head. She struggled with her chains, wanting to help Damon in any way that she could, knowing at the same time that she couldn't do much.

As she struggled with her chains, she caught a shift in the shadows in the corner of her eye. A split second later, a wooden stake had embedded itself into Katherine's side. She didn't see Damon move, but all of a sudden, he had thrust a pencil into Katherine's chest.

She smiled, relieved to know that it was over. A cry from the bushes made her turn her head. David Zenna rushed at her in what seemed to be slow motion, a large knife in his hand. It didn't even register with her when he stabbed her in the heart.

She looked down at the handle of the knife, just sticking out of her chest as if it belonged there. Her eye sight was dimming in the corners as she looked over at Damon, who was just turning to look at her.

The last thing she saw before she fell over the edge of the bridge was Damon's expression of absolute horror.


	12. Life and Love

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I wish I owned Damon, he's just so HAWT! Or at least Paul Wesley. I do, however, own this story and all the original characters that will appear in it as the story goes on. Thank you.

**Chapter 12: Life and Love**

Blackness clouded her vision and ice ran through her veins. Her breath stilled in her chest. Dani knew she was dead, there could be no other explanation for the amount of pain that she was currently in. Heavy pins and needles shot through her body. It felt exactly like when her foot or arm would fall asleep, just on a larger scale.

It made sense, in its own way. With her heart stopped, her blood slowed and stopped circulating. Soon she would feel nothing. She would just drift away into death silently, and that scared her. She wasn't a person who focused on religion, so she really couldn't say whether she believed in an afterlife or not. She had always thought of herself as spiritual, always trying to look at the big picture of life rather than concentrating on the meaningless little details that she noticed so many other people paid attention to.

Once, when she was younger, she gave the idea of death a great deal amount of thought. She didn't think that she would die anytime soon, no, she was too young for that. In her mind, she was invincible. She could ride her bike over a ramp, perform amazing feats on the jungle gym, and capture the flag in the woods with her friends, all without having to worry about whether or not she'd get hurt.

But once, just that once, she had stopped and thought about death. She thought about living her life, getting old, having children, having a job, retiring, having grandchildren, and then dying. But was that it? At the end, after she had endured years of happiness, sadness, anger, heartbreak, passion and love, she just simply died? What the hell was that? It wasn't fair to live a full life only to disappear at the end of it. What if she did disappear? What if there was nothing there after you died?

She had cried then, when she had thought about the end of her life. She remembered her mother finding her in tears, asking her what was wrong. Listening to her daughter, her mother had wrapped her arms around her and said, "Dear, no one really knows what happens after we die. The one thing that we can be sure about is the mark we leave behind. That is how we live on Dani. We give all our love to whoever we meet, and they remember us after we're gone. So we never really die, not really."

Her mother's words had comforted Dani then, but she could find no comfort in them now. She had loved, yes, but would Damon remember her? Would he remember her fifty years, or a hundred years from now? She hoped so.

Dani's thought's dimmed and blinked out as she died, her eyes dulling and losing life. Water from the river ran into her mouth, into her body. Her fingers, which had been clenched moments before, loosened and fanned out in the water. Danielle Court died at 10:23 pm.

* * *

Not sparing a glance at Zenna, Damon ran to the edge of the bridge and jumped over the side after Dani, leaving Alaric to deal with the other vampire.

The water was a shock when he dove in. He pushed it aside though and focused on finding Dani in the dark water. He caught movement in the corner of his eye. He looked to the side and saw a hand. He reached for it and grabbed hold of it. Pulling the hand to him, he pulled the rest of Dani's body up and into his arms. He quickly kicked his feet, swimming to the surface.

He wasted no time in making his way to the river bank. Alaric was there waiting for him, which Damon assumed meant that he had taken care of Zenna. Alaric took hold of Dani and pulled her up onto the bank. Damon hoisted himself up and quickly moved to Dani's side.

Her face was white, her lips blue as were the tips of her fingers. The chains that still bound her wrists clinked together as Damon tried to find a heartbeat.

"Is she.,,?"

Damon looked up at Alaric. He shook his head.

"Jesus, I'm sorry Damon."

"What are you sorry about?"

Alaric's brow furrowed. Damon's mouth turned up in a slow grin. "Stephen told you about what happened right? That she was attacked?"

Alaric nodded. "Yeah, but what does that- Holy shit, you gave her your blood didn't you?"

Damon laughed. It was a lighthearted sound, one that Alaric thought he would never hear from the sarcastic blood sucker. Damon took Dani's chains in his hands and broke them, then did the same thing to the ones around her ankles. He pulled the knife from Dani's chest, throwing it to the side. He slipped his arms around her body and lifted her.

Winking at Alaric, he said, "See you later. And don't worry about Dani. I'll make sure that she doesn't skip out on school." Not looking back, Damon speeded back to the house.

* * *

Dani groaned as she came back into consciousness. She felt sore all over and her throat felt so dry that she could swear that she could drink the Nile right then and there. Screw the ecosystem, she was thirsty dammit.

She opened her eyes to a dimly lit room. She recognized the canopy above her head as the one that was over her own bed at the boarding house. But that wasn't right, she couldn't be at the boarding house. Last thing that she remembered was the bridge…

Gasping, Dani shot up in bed. The bridge! Damon, he had been there. He had killed Katherine, and then… Then Zenna, he had…

Her hand flew up to her chest. Looking down, Dani saw that she was wearing large shirt that wasn't her own. Pulling down the collar, Dani saw…nothing. Absolutely nothing. She touched the skin above her heart gingerly, inspecting the unblemished skin. No mark marred her skin, no cut or wound. But how was that possible? How could she be alive? How?

A noise near the door caught her attention. Damon stood leaning against the doorframe, studying her with his cool eyes.

Before Dani could say anything to him, she was suddenly enveloped in a tight hug. Damon held her tightly against him, breathing in her scent and joyous of the fact that she was with him once again.

"Damon, what happened? Why am I alive?"

Damon pulled back to look into her eyes. "Remember what I told about vampire blood?"

Dani stared at him, her mind stalling with refusal and doubt. She shook her head feebly. "No, I can't be… I died and now I'm a… Am I a…a…"

Damon shook his head no. "Not yet. You need to drink human blood to complete the transformation."

A lump formed in her throat at the thought. "I have to drink…human blood?"

Damon nodded. "Yes, but you don't have to kill anyone Dani. I have a few bags of blood downstairs in a cooler that you can drink from. Just say the word and I'll go get one for you."

"What happens if I don't drink it?"

Silence filled the room for a few moments. Finally, Damon sighed and answered, "You die, and you won't be coming back."

Dani looked down, her eyes not seeing the covers that were clutched in her hands.

"I need some time to think about it."

"Dani…"

"Please Damon." She looked up at him, pleading. "I really need to think about it. I'll-I'll let you know soon what my decision is, but for now, I need you to leave and let me think." Her voice was on the verge of breaking, her tone begging him to leave.

Damon's face flitted from hurt to neutral in a matter of seconds, but Dani caught it. She felt guilty for hurting him, but she needed time alone if she was going to decide whether she wanted to die or spend an eternity with the man she loved and leave everything behind her.

Damon slowly righted himself and walked to the door. He gave Dani one last glance before closing the door behind him, leaving Dani alone.

* * *

'So what now Dani?' she thought to herself. She had two choices before her, there was no third door. She either died, or she drank some blood and lived forever. Dying didn't scare her anymore, she had done it once before and it hadn't been that bad. Except for the knife in her chest, her death hadn't been that bad at all. So she could live with dying… or something.

Living forever was another story altogether. Living forever would mean that she would get to experience all sorts of things, hopefully one of which would be flying cars. And she would be with Damon, that is if he loved her like she loved him and wanted her to be with him. But if he didn't want her, and she agreed to become a vampire, where would that leave her? Alone forever? No thanks.

It would also mean that she would have to drink blood for the foreseeable future. Would that mean that she couldn't eat normal food anymore? If she couldn't, then she'd be pretty bummed out. She loved food. What would she do after she had finished watching Titanic and she couldn't eat ice cream? Suck on a bag of blood that some poor person had donated it, hoping to save someone with their contribution? Although, she had seen Damon eat food on occasion, so she figured that she would be able to eat after changing.

And what about her family? Her parents were still alive, and she was very close to them. If she lived forever, then she would have to watch everyone that she loved die. She wouldn't be able to tell them that she was a creature of the night, they would freak out. Well, her dad would probably ask her to turn into a bat and her mother would ask her to use her super strength to move the furniture, but that was beside the point. The point was that she would outlive them. Would she be able to handle that?

Before she decided, she needed to know one thing first. There was only one person who could give her that answer.

* * *

Damon was sitting before the lighted fireplace, a glass of brandy in his hand. He didn't turn when he heard Dani's padded footsteps on the stairs. He waited for her to come to him. She didn't disappoint as she walked up to stand right in front of him, the light of the fire at her back.

"Where's Stephen?"

"With Elena at her place."

Silence, then, "I need to ask you something."

Damon took a sip of his cup, waiting.

"Do you love me?"

He looked up. Dani's eyes were shining with unshed tears. He could see that she was nervous and anxious for his answer. Her fingers were curling and uncurling at her sides.

He took a breath. "Dani, you have been by far, the most interesting woman that I have ever met. And that is worth saying something. What made me pay attention to you were your quirks. The way to speak to yourself without realizing is one of my favorites. It's refreshing, because it shows me that you're honest, which not a lot of people are. I don't think I'd ever get bored of teasing you about it either."

Dani felt the first tear fall from her eye and run down her cheek. "So you'd never be bored with me huh? That's not a good enough reason for me to become a vampire Damon."

"I know." Damon set down his glass and stood up, taking a step towards Dani. She didn't move however, just stood there, looking at him. "I love your quirks, but I also love other things about you. I love that you're caring, honest, considerate, smart, cute, and your body is a definite plus." He smirked.

Dani gave out a laugh that mixed in with a sob. She sniffed, waiting.

Damon reached up and wiped away the tears from Dani's cheeks. "Dani, I thought I loved Katherine, but I realized a long time ago that I was just infatuated with her. I loved the idea of being with her, but I didn't love her. I can only compare my feelings for you to the moon while Katherine was just a night light. I love you Dani. I want to be with you."

Dani sniffed again and grinned. She threw her arms around Damon, happier than she had ever remembered being before. Damon hugged her back, kissing the crown of her head. Suddenly Dani pulled back, looking up at Damon with wide eyes.

"What is it Dani?"

"Damon, when I become a vampire, will I still get my period?"


	13. Thank You

**Thank You: a Note from Inkster Girl**

I'd like to thank everyone for reading and reviewing my story "Quirky." I must say that every review that I received have been very helpful in making me finish this story.

I have to say though that this won't be the last time that all of you read about Dani, though she might not be a main character anymore.

See you all next time!

Inkster Girl


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